Chapter Text
In a small town called Rose Creek, a meeting took place inside the church. The pews were full of concerned townsfolk, each needing to speak their mind. The couple of men who spoke the most were standing up in their pews, arguing and adding to what the others said.
“Bogue’s gonna come back, and he’s gonna try and take this land.”
“What about our families?"
“What about Bogue?”
“Hey, calm down! Calm down!”
“Our crops are dying! He’s telling us that the water’s poisoned.”
“It’s a lie!”
“It is a lie. Otherwise, why does he have Blackstones keeping us away from it?”
“He’s just a man, Turner.”
“He’s a man with an army, Phillips!”
“He’s a man with a claim to mine a mountain.”
“He’s trying to run us out of town.”
“And his miners are camping on the edge of our town!”
“A man seizing our land. A man with dozens of hired guns on his payroll.”
“We know that, Turner.”
“Who’s gonna stand up to a man like that?”
“We will,” a younger man who spoke stood up from his seat in the back next to his wife.
“But how?”
“With what?”
“To Bogue?”
“There are laws on our side,” the young man spoke again.
“Bogue is the law, Matthew. Bought and paid for.”
“Even got our sheriff on his payroll.”
“And his deputies.”
“And that’s why I say we fight.”
“I say we fight. Yeah.”
“I ain’t fighting, and I ain’t leaving neither.”
“Well, what are you gonna do?”
“God will provide.”
“That’s right, Brother Phillip,” the preacher spoke from his spot near the pulpit. “The Lord surely will provide.”
“Now, now, Bogue is a businessman,” a greasy little man dressed in rich clothes stood up near the front. “If you just reason with him, he’ll give you a fair share.”
“Fair share, Gavin? You’re the only one making money here! You and your… whores.”
“Now, Ben, that ain’t fair. You know that. You were there the other night.” Gavin and Ben started a shouting match that quickly faded as the Mayor spoke up.
“Reason? Ask the Dennehys how far reasoning got them.”
“He burned all the Dennehys’ crops!”
“Our farms are rotting. It’s only a matter of time before he drives us all out of here.”
“For the sake of our children,” the schoolteacher spoke up, “I believe it’s time we leave Rose Creek.”
“To where?” Matthew spoke again. “I know you’re scared. We all are, but we came too far to get here. Suffered losses too painful to bear to make this our home. But we did it. All of us, together. This valley is ours.”
“I agree with Matthew.”
“I’m with Matthew.”
Just then, a dozen Blackstone agents kicked in the doors of the church and casually spread themselves out, circling around the congregation. The people sat down in their seats and Bogue began slowly sauntering up the aisle.
“This is the Lord’s house. It’s no place for guns. There are women and children,” the preacher insisted. But none of the agents listened. They all had their rifles resting threateningly on their hips.
Bogue still moved slowly up the aisle, shaking a mysterious dark jar. When he got up to the front, the Mayor and the Preacher stepped aside, allowing him to address the crowd. He set the jar on the pulpit, drawing everyone’s attention to it.
“This is what you love, what you’d die for. And what your children and your children’s children will work on, suffer for, be consumed by.” He picked out the teacher’s son from the crowd. “Look at me, boy. Come on up here. Come on.”
The boy reluctantly walked up to stand beside the man.
“Now I come here for gold. This country has long equated democracy with capitalism, capitalism with God. So you’re standing not only in the way of progress and capital. You’re standing in the way of God! And for what?”
He turned back to the boy, holding the now opened jar.
“You want to help me out? Let’s find out. Put your hand in there for me.” The boy did so very reluctantly, so Bogue shoved his hand in the jar. “This is no longer land. The moment I put a pin in the map, the day I descended into this godforsaken valley and cast my gaze upon it, it ceased to be land and became… That’s it. Pull your hand out.” The boy took his hand back with a bit of dirt from the jar. “Dust.” He let the boy go back to his parents. “This is your God?” He poured out the dirt at the front of the church. “$20 for each parcel of dust, that is my offer.” As the townsfolk began to argue that their land was worth way more than that, Bogue merely shrugged. “It won’t sweeten. It’ll only sour.”
A couple of the Blackstone men fired their guns at the roof, scaring everybody to flee the church, only to still be surrounded by hired guns preventing them from going any further than the street. Bogue walked out last, just as his men began to set fire to the church. When the Preacher began to reprimand them, a few agents began to beat him down.
“Leave him alone.” Matthew left his wife’s side to help the preacher back up.
“I’ll return to Rose Creek in three weeks. Those of you who accept my offer, whose signed deeds are on my desk when I return shall get their $20. Those who do not… may your good Lord help you.” Bogue began to walk off.
“What kind of man are you?” Matthew asked from his spot next to the Preacher, who began to limp away. “What’d these people ever do to you? For what, Bogue? For land?!”
Bogue never said a word, choosing to sashay back past Matthew’s wife, pausing only a few paces from the man, before taking his pistol and shooting Matthew.
“No!!” His wife cried, running to Matthew’s side.
A couple other people tried to flee in panic, but they were soon killed by Bogue’s men.
Another young woman who had stood close to the new widow was knocked to the ground by the Native warrior in Bogue’s entourage. Bogue sidled over to stand above the girl.
“Three weeks, Theadora,” he said menacingly. “That’s all you get.” He walked over to the sheriff. “Leave the bodies where they lay. Let ‘em look at ‘em a few days.”
*****************************************
“Hopefully, we can find somebody to help in this town,” Emma prayed.
“I’ll go look around the saloon if you want to get some more supplies,” Theadora (Teddy, to most people) offered. The two women split up and Teddy found the saloon easily enough. She claimed an empty table near the back and waited. After a while, she couldn’t help but overhear the conversation at the poker table nearby.
“Now, let’s try to keep it civil this round, okay?” She saw a rather handsome man speaking with a cigar clamped between his teeth. “I’m looking at you, Lucas.”
“Just play the damn game, Faraday,” a one-eyed man, presumably Lucas, snarked back. Faraday merely gave the man an obnoxiously long wink, which Teddy failed to suppress a giggle at. Faraday heard the laugh and smiled at the woman.
Just then, a dark silhouette appeared at the saloon door. He paused for a moment, everyone’s attention snapped to him, and then he entered and walked right up to the bar.
“Shot of Busthead,” the black man asked the bartender.
“Sorry, don’t carry that kind, Cowboy.”
“Well, in that case,” the man put down a single coin, “I’ll have a double.” As the bartender pulled out a glass and a bottle, which was in fact Busthead, the man in black put another coin on the bar.
“What’s that for?”
“Information. Looking for a man. Big fella, ‘bout your size.”
“What’s his name?”
“Name his mama gave him was Daniel Harrison, but sometimes he goes by the name of Powder Dan. Killed a tenant farmer and his son in cold blood. Stole the man’s plow horse. Man’s wife tried to intervene. Took advantage, then killed her, too.”
“Ain’t heard of him.”
“Well, like I said, he uses different names. Has a bullet scar on his left shoulder. Right there.” The cowboy pressed his finger into the bartender’s shoulder, noting how the man winced in pain. “Now Powder Dan ran with an outlaw, name of July Bully. May he rest in peace.”
Teddy noticed then that all conversations had yet to resume, the poker game was still on hold, even the piano player had gone nearly silent. Everyone in the saloon was waiting to see what would happen. The man at the bar noticed several others reaching for their pistols, so he shot them all, but not fatally. He shot one man in the hand, one in the foot, one leg of a man’s chair so that it broke from under him, and another man’s hat flew off.
Teddy saw from the corner of her eye a couple men at the poker table slowly reaching for their guns, but Faraday was quicker. He pointed his pistol at them, quietly stopping them from interfering.
“Come on. Settle down, mister. Come on,” the bartender tried to plead for his life. “I got a family, mister.”
“They’re better off without you,” the man said. At once the bartender made for the shotgun he kept under the counter, but the cowboy was quicker, shooting the bartender in the chest. The cowboy addressed the audience in the room. “Somebody fetch the sheriff.” But nobody dared to move. The man in black put his hand on his pistol, and suddenly everyone was scrambling for the door.
Teddy found herself swept up in the crowd spilling out into the street and decided that man was exactly the kind of help they needed. She ran off to tell Emma and explained what happened in the saloon. They returned and found the man surrounded by the sheriff and his deputies in front of the saloon.
“My name Is Sam Chisolm. I’m a duly sworn warrant officer of the circuit court in Wichita, Kansas. I’m also a licensed peace officer in the Indian Territories, Arkansas, Nebraska, and seven other states. Now this man is wanted on charges in Nebraska, expedited by federal writ, under Common State Law Enforcement Act.” He gave the handbill to the sheriff. “Wire Judge Talbot in Wichita for the reward. Half the money goes to the man’s widow. And you can hold my part for me till I get back.”
“Where are you headed?” the sheriff asked.
“Off into the mountains, hunting a vaquero.”
Emma began to start after the man, but Teddy stopped her.
“No, Emma. I’ll do it.” She ran to catch up to Chisolm, who had mounted his horse. “Excuse me, sir. Are you a bounty hunter?”
“No, ma’am.”
“I have need of a man with your qualifications.”
“Sorry, miss, but you’re a bit too young for me.”
“It’s not like that. I want to hire you for a job.”
“You can’t afford me.”
“Well, can you at least describe the rates, or offer up the particulars?” When Chisom said nothing, she continued. “Rose Creek. It’s only four days’ ride from here. A rich man has overtaken the town. He’s killed half a dozen men. He’s got the sheriff on his payroll and Blackstone agents in his employ.”
“Well, you don’t need a bounty hunter, you need an army.”
“And we intend to hire one, sir.”
“I’m not for sale.” Sam continued to ride as Emma caught up to keep pace beside him and try her hand at persuasion.
“Mister. Mister! You intend to make me chase? I have a proposition.”
“And I’m wary of propositions, miss.”
“Missus. I’m not sure if my friend filled you in on the details.”
“Enough of ‘em.”
“Then why won’t you at least listen?” Sam stopped his horse. “We’re simple farmers. Decent, hard-working people being driven from our homes. Men slaughtered in cold blood. Women and children without food or essentials. All because some man named Bogue wants to mine our valley and take it from us.”
“Bartholomew Bogue?”
“You know of him?”
“Heard the name.” Emma took a nearly empty saddlebag from Teddy and handed it up to Sam. “What’s this?” He peered inside at the money.
“Everything we have. That’s what it's worth to us.”
“Been offered a lot for my work,” he said as he handed the bag back to the women, “but never everything.”
“That man murdered my husband. Killed him dead in the middle of the street.”
“So, you seek revenge.”
“I seek righteousness, as should we all. But I’ll take revenge.”
*********************************
Sam, Emma, and Teddy peered over a map of Rose Creek. They had made their way to a secluded back room in the inn.
“The only way in is the valley floor, and the main road in and out is to the West,” Emma pointed out.
“Where’s the mine?” Sam asked
“Here.” Teddy pointed to the back end of the valley.
“And where’s Bogue?”
“Sacramento,” Emma answered.
“He’s back in less than three weeks,” the blonde glowered.
“How many men you say you got left in town?”
“Forty, maybe,” Teddy estimated.
“Farmers. Not fighters,” Emma elaborated.
“You understand what it means when you start something like this?”
“We did not start this, Mr. Chisolm,” Emma corrected.
“We’ll need to find some more men,” Sam stated.
“Any idea where to look?” Teddy asked.
************************************
The three rode up to find a very short man arguing about a horse with one of the poker players from the saloon.
“Seems we have ourselves a Mexican standoff, only between an Irishman and a Baptist, and I’m not sure how that ends.”
“With you walking away,” the short man said as he moved to rest his hand on his pistol, “without your horse.”
“Now, why’d you have to go and touch your gun for? We were in the middle of a gentlemen’s negotiation,” Faraday said.
“How much for his horse?” Sam asked.
“$25 for the horse. Seven and two bits for the saddle,” the leprechaun sneered.
“Our paths cross again,” Faraday stated to Sam. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Took a job. Looking for some men to join me.”
“Is there money in it?” Emma threw over the same saddle bag from before. It was then Faraday also noticed the other woman, the one from the saloon. “And who’s she?”
“Joan of Arc,” Sam said.
“My name’s Emma Cullen, and this is my associate, Teddy Q.”
“Well, I do have an affinity for shiny things and beautiful women.” He threw the bag back to Emma and winked at Teddy, earning a deep blush from the woman who looked away flustered. “Is it difficult?”
“Impossible,” Sam answered.
“How many you got so far?”
“Two.”
“What, them?”
“You and me.”
Faraday simply grinned.
*********************************
As the four rode out of town, Faraday matched his pace with Emma.
“Sending two women to gather guns is not very chivalrous,” Faraday observed.
“We volunteered. Insisted, actually,” Emma answered. Faraday looked back at Teddy riding behind them. He caught her staring before she quickly looked away with a blush on her cheeks. Then he turned back around and caught up to Sam.
“Lot of fire in that one, but the other is oddly shy. Begs the question. Whose execution do we seek?”
“Bartholomew Bogue,” Sam answered.
“Bart Bogue? The robber baron?” Faraday was surprised. “Means there's gold in the equation, but gold don’t do you much good when you’re buried with it.”
“You want out, feel free to leave. Just leave my horse, ‘cause I paid for it.”
“Just speaking out loud,” Faraday said.
“Twenty miles east of here,” Sam ordered, “Volcano Springs, supply station. You take Miss Q with you. Look for a Cajun, name of Robicheaux.”
“Goodnight Robicheaux?” Faraday asked.
“That’s right.”
“The Angel of Death.”
“Meet me outside of Junction City in three days,” Sam continued. “If I ain’t there, then it means I’m dead and you can keep my horse.” Sam turned to Emma. “You’re with me. Come on.” Sam and Emma rode off into the mountains and Faraday rode east with Teddy.
“‘Teddy’ is an odd name for a woman,” Faraday said.
“My real name is even odder. Most people get confused by it so it’s easier just to go by ‘Teddy’.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Faraday smiled at the young lady. He found it amusing how easy it was to make her blush. After being accustomed to the company of less reputable women, he found her timid innocence to be a breath of fresh air. “What is your real name?”
“I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.”
“Joshua Faraday, at your service.” He tipped his hat and tried to bow in his seat, which Jack the horse did not appreciate. The horse shifted just enough to catch the man by surprise and had him falling out of the saddle. The sight had Teddy laughing so hard she couldn’t sit up straight in her own saddle. “Don’t you know it’s mean to laugh at a man when he’s down.”
“I’m sorry,” she said through her giggles. “That was just too funny.” She managed to calm down after a little while.
“You have to keep your promise, you know,” Faraday said as he picked himself back up.
“My name’s Theadora Quincy.”
“Couldn’t people just call you ‘Dora’?”
“Ugh, I hate when people call me that,” she grimaced. “For a while I tried to get people to call me ‘Thea’, but folk said that sounded too strange.”
“Well, don’t listen to them. Those folks obviously don’t know a pretty name when they hear it.” That earned him another blush from the young woman.
“Just get back on your horse, so we can keep moving, please.” Teddy said, smiling.
“As you wish.”
***************************************
Faraday and Teddy arrived at Volcano Springs just in time to see a slim Asian man win a gunfight with a throwing knife he had in his hair. Theadora was quite impressed at the show. A slightly older man in a long gray coat began collecting money from the betting spectators. A young man leaning on the fence voiced his dissent.
“I ain’t in the habit of paying off cheaters. I’ll be keeping my money.” Another man beside him decided to step in.
“Easy, Goodnight,” he said, even though the man in gray hadn’t really reacted yet. “He’s drunk. He don’t mean it.”
“Mr. Robicheaux,” the young man was awed at the man he had just insulted. “If I had known it was you, that was your man, I never would have made such a disrespectful comment.” Teddy and Faraday both perked up overhearing the conversation.
“It’s alright, son,” the man finally spoke. “You just pay me double.” Which the young man was quick to do. Goodnight kept collecting the winnings when he walked past Faraday and Teddy.
“Goodnight Robicheaux?” Faraday asked, but the man kept walking. “Sam Chisolm sent us!” At that, Goodnight turned around to get a proper look.
“What’s this about?” Goodie asked.
“We have a job,” Theadora said. “Mr. Chisolm said you might help us.”
“Well then,” Goodnight’s curious gaze turned into a calming smile. “There’s a nice tent where we can talk.”
*********************
They meandered into the big tent which served as a saloon and barber shop. Goodie immediately took a seat in the barber’s chair for a shave. The knife thrower from the fight found a plate of food and sat next to Goodie. Faraday kicked a couple of drunks out of their chairs and set them up for Teddy and himself.
“‘Duly sworn warrant officer from Wichita, Kansas and seven other states.’ Do we have the same man?”
“Yes, I believe we do,” Faraday laughed with Goodie.
“Should we talk somewhere more private?” Teddy asked in a timid voice.
“Aw, I like it right here, mon cher,” the Cajun pouted.
“Great, I'm stuck with the two biggest flirts I’ve ever met,” Thea joked before settling further in her seat. Goodnight simply chuckled.
“How ‘bout you, Billy. You like it here?” Goodie asked. The Asian mumbled his agreement as he passed over a cigarette.
“How did you two meet?” Teddy asked.
“How did we meet, Billy? I was serving a warrant on him for the Northern Pacific Railroad.”
“A warrant for what? Killing a man with a hair pin?” Faraday joked, chuckling until he noticed the blank stare from Billy.
“That is funny,” the knife fighter deadpanned. Faraday’s laugh exploded like a drunken belch, unexpected yet restrained to just one outburst.
“Here’s what it is. I found Billy down in an old redneck saloon in Texas, and all these good ol’ boys, they didn’t want to serve Billy’s kind. So this, uh, petite son of a bitch took on the whole room bare-knuckled. I watched in awe, and I said to myself, ‘Goodnight, this is not a man to arrest, this is a man to befriend.’”
“You make your living off of his alley fights?” Teddy asked, intrigued.
“Equal shares. Between fights Goodie helps me navigate the white man’s prejudices,” Billy elaborated.
“That’s right. I keep him employed, and he keeps me on the level.”
“Mr. Chisholm told us to fetch you, but he didn’t mention Billy,” Thea explained.
“Wherever I go, Billy goes.”
“I meant no offense,” Theadora said, raising her hands in a placating gesture.
“None taken, ma’am,” Billy spoke up.
“Then we understand each other,” Goodie said.
“Well, day-and-a-half ride to Junction City,” Faraday spoke up. “We got two days. Let’s do a half day of drinkin’.”
“I like you,” Goodie said.
“Oh, dear,” Teddy muttered, sharing an exasperated look with Billy.
********************
Two days later, the group reunited outside of Junction City. Teddy soon realized that the third figure under the giant tree was another fighter Chisom had recruited.
“Sam Chisolm!” Goodie howled as they came to a stop.
“Goodnight Robicheaux.” Sam smiled at his old friend.
“Oh, a sight to see, even with a storm on our backs.” Goodie jumped down from his horse.
“Rain ain’t nothin’ but wet.”
“What we lost in the fire, we will find in the ashes.”
“That’s right.” Goodie and Sam hugged with enthusiasm.
“This is Billy Rocks. He’s with me,” Goodie introduced as Billy picked up their horses’ reins.
“Sam,” Faraday spoke up from atop his horse. “Uh, that’s Billy. He come with Goodnight.” Josh stumbled off his horse, still drunk. Theadora slid gracefully off of her mare and brought it over to a low branch, tying the reins next to Emma’s horse.
“I don’t know about this one,” Goodnight joked to Sam about Faraday. “Who’s this?” He nodded to Emma.
“We work for her,” Sam answered. Goodie strolled up to the woman.
“Well, enchanté, mon cher,” he slipped into French as he greeted her.
“Emma Cullen.” She shook his hand, but he didn’t let go right away.
“Your hands are cold, Emma,” he noticed. “Are you nervous?”
She said nothing. It was understandable that both females would be nervous under the circumstances. Finding themselves surrounded by unfamiliar men who were all fighters, dangerous by definition. But at the same time, they were comforted by the fact that the men had joined up for the job because they were honorable. After all, the most dangerous men often make the best bodyguards.
“Don’t be,” he said in a calming voice. “‘Goodnight’s my name.” He walked over to Billy as he was tying up their horses.
“That Billy is pretty nifty with them pig-stickers,” Faraday informed Sam. Chisolm merely nodded before turning back to the camp. It was then that Faraday noticed Vasquez was watching them.
“Oh, good, we got a Mexican.”
Faraday strolled up to the vaquero, mocking him in a playful manner. Sam pulled Vasquez away from the drunk as Teddy came over to distract Joshua.
“Could you try not making fun of everyone you meet?” She asked in a scolding tone.
“What are you talking about? I haven’t made fun of you, yet.”
“Yeah, ‘yet’ being the key word here.” Faraday merely grinned wider. “Can’t you see that man is wound up tight enough as it is?”
“Come on, Thea. You really think he’s gonna shoot me?”
“He’s jumpy, and you’re the type that would poke a bear with a stick just to see what happens. So, yeah, I think there’s a good chance.” She tried to beat down the blush threatening to appear at the nickname, but Josh still saw the pink tinge on her cheeks.
“Aww, you’re worried about me?” He teased.
Thea froze. She figured that Josh was trying to flirt with her, and she had absolutely no idea how to react.
Teddy recalled how Faraday was with one of the saloon girls during the poker game before they met Chisolm. Since then, all he ever did was tease and flirt. She doubted that he actually meant any of it.
“You can’t help Rose Creek if you’re dead before we even get there,” she pointed out.
“Oh, sweet girl,” Faraday moved a stray lock of hair behind her ear, grinning as her blush deepened. “Maybe I’ll just have to tease you, instead.”
“It’s not like you don’t do so already,” Teddy muttered as she walked past him toward their campsite. She heard him chuckle, but didn’t turn around to catch his lingering gaze.