[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter eight
Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading:
atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
A/N: Also in this chapter we´re about to ´visit´ Montana, Wyoming and Colorado...
Enjoy and thank you in advance in any comment you´d like to share. ^_^
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven //
Echoes of the past
Kame was not sure what woke him up, but he didn´t want to leave the comforting embrace of calm sleep yet. It felt unusually comfortable and familiarly safe at the same time. Only once he was conscious enough to realize an arm thrown across his body in quite a possessive way, he knew the reason.
Keeping his eyes closed, he smiled. Apparently, Jin slipped into his bed sometime during the night.
He fidgeted a little, nestling in a more comfortable position, now even less willing to get up. The firm body attached to his slightly moved as well. Shortly after that, Kame felt a warm breath on his ear.
“Why didn´t you wake me up?” the mumbled words sounded only half-awake, but reproachfully anyway.
Kame turned his head to look at Jin, who was watching him with his eyes opened only for a narrow cranny.
“I came in quite late and had no heart to do it,” he justified himself softly. “You seemed enjoying your bed a lot.”
“More than you with me in it? Nonsense,” Jin grumbled and strengthened the grip around him, as he let the eyelids to cover his sight again. “What took you so long?”
“Harada refused to accept any money for dinner, so I helped him to clean up the taproom at least.”
“That definitely sounds like you,” the older one assumed with resignation.
Kame observed the calm face of his lover for a while, before he reached out and ran through his short stubble tenderly.
“What is it?” Jin asked quietly, reacting on the unusual touch.
“I… I´d like to stop by somewhere,” Kame replied slowly. “Before we go to the fort.”
Hearing the strange tone, Jin opened his eyes: “Sure. Where?”
Sadness appeared in the younger one´s eyes and somehow, Jin knew what was on his mind.
“You want to visit your mother´s grave?” he guessed.
“Yeah,” Kame confirmed, cuddling closer into his embrace.
Jin hesitated only for a short moment: “Want me to come along?”
Chestnut eyes buried into his, pleasantly surprised: “If you´d like…”
“Of course I would. But only if you give me ten more minutes in this bed.”
“Even twenty, serve yourself,” Kame assured him smiling, patted his lips in a short, tender kiss and then sat up. Well, rather he only tried, as Jin dragged him back right away.
“With you in it as well, dummy…”
*
An hour later, two young gunslingers came out of the saloon´s door, repaid the greeting of Mr. Harada, who was just enjoying his morning coffee and cigarette on the veranda, and joined the growing hustle on the street. Side by side, they passed by Franko´s Store, heading for the calmer parts of the city.
Maybe, if the two weren´t so busy with keeping their hands in pockets and their smiles not too bright, they might have noticed the black man, who peeked out of the store with his eyes wide. He stared at them, until they turned around the corner. Then this man threw away the small bread that he had been holding in his hand so far and accompanied with an angry yell from inside the store, he stormed out on the street.
Ignoring the swearing of people he pushed aside, he hurried to the outskirts of Bozeman, and then toward the line of small, ugly chalets. Within five minutes, he was pounding on the door of one, located a bit aside from the others. When it finally moved under his fist, he almost fell over the threshold.
“What the hell, man?!” the owner of the small house welcomed him frowning. “You´d disturb even dead from their grave!”
“You´re gonna have to thank me yet, you´ll see!” his breathless acquaintance from Karnaka´s farm reacted. “Come!”
“Where to?”
“I´ll show you! Hurry, before they get lost somewhere again!”
Ned realized that he wouldn´t get rid of the excited man so easily and grabbed his waistcoat from the rusty hanger.
“Maria, hon´, I´ll be right back!” he called over his shoulder.
“What´s going on, Ned?” the woman´s voice asked from their kitchen.
“Nothin´ serious. I´ll tell you then!” Ned closed the door and followed his friend, who was already rushing him back to the city center. “If you´re kiddin´ and disturbed me from fine breakfast for nothin´, man, I´ll push your face into dung, got it?”
*
The Bozeman cemetery surrounded by leafy trees was located on the mild slope north of the city and it had a breathtaking view on the Rockies. Not that any of its residents would appreciate it.
Not many graves were necessary to dig out for local citizens yet, and if not for depressing crosses rising from low grass, it would have been a calm, beautiful place. Unlike that muddy hole, which he was forced to live in now, because he couldn´t afford any better place.
“See them? As I told you!” Alphonse, cowering behind one of the trees just a bit aside of the road, whispered urgently.
Yes, he saw those two familiar youngsters by one of the graves almost on the very top of the slope.
“Yeah… And?” Ned stared at his companion, leaning his back over another tree.
“Don´t play dumb!” Alphonse burst out before he remembered that he was supposed to be inconspicuous. “I know you recognize them just as I do!”
Ned nodded: “Yeah, but I don´t get you anyway.”
Crouching black man gave him an incredulous look: “You didn’t forget what they did, did you?”
“I didn´t. What about it?” he shrugged. “The farm is gone and Karnaka dead. Nothing changes that. I don´t give a shit about what those two ´re doing here.”
“Man, you pretend to be smart, but you´re seriously dumb!” Alphonse snorted. “Don´t you remember what Cameron said? How much he wanted to avenge his hundred-time-damned master?”
Ned frowned. He definitely remembered that scary expression, just as the feeling he had when he realized how dangerous this former personal servant and butler could be. He didn´t want to meddle with that man anymore.
“And what do we have to do with it?” he asked with a bad hunch, seeing his old buddy´s expression.
“We should let him know they´re back here!” Alphonse clarified it for him quite excitedly.
“What for?” Ned snorted.
“For a reward of course!” the other man raised his voice again, before lowering it even more than before. “I met my cousin a few weeks ago and he heard that our Mr. Cameron´s doing more than fine down in Colorado. Don´t you think he might be grateful?”
That was quite possible, but Ned still didn´t like the idea: “I wouldn´t be so sure about that…”
“We don´t know until we try!” Alphonse continued persistently. “I´ve had enough of shitty jobs and empty stomach! What can we lose?”
Ned sighed, as he glanced towards the certain grave again: “I don´t know, man… They did nothing to me. Why should I…”
“Nothing? Nothing?!” his friend interrupted him harshly. “You lost a great job, dumbass! You can´t even feed your woman properly! And you wanted a real house, didn´t you? How do you want to get money for it? Working for those stingy railway bastards? You´ve already tried and you know that next time it´s gonna kill you!”
He had to admit that Alphonse was right. But it didn´t make him feel any better about getting involved with the former Karnaka´s shadow again.
“Never mind!” Alphonse hissed, when Ned kept stubbornly silent. “I´m gonna send that telegram, you do what you want! But don´t come after me crying for a share of what I pull off Cameron then!”
*
Looking at the name engraved in simple letters, Jin felt vague regret. He didn´t have a chance to become more acquainted with Kame´s mother, before that bastard Grenet, let him rot in Hell, murdered her. He would have liked to know the woman who raised his incredible lover after the tragedy, which fell upon their family; she had to be a wonderful character. He wondered where the rest of Kame´s family was buried, but it would have been awful of him to ask about it now.
Kazuya was squatting in front of the simple cross in silence, his head lowered and eyes closed. Jin could imagine that it was not easy for him to come back to his hometown, even though he didn´t utter even a word of complaint. Kame had to face many bad memories sneering at him from behind almost every corner here. Nevertheless, he went to see this grave and remembered his late mother. Jin considered his lover brave just for that.
While they were in Billings, he did not even think about the graves of his parents and best friend. He subconsciously prevented himself from it. He didn´t want his mind to slip back to those times he felt nothing but dark desire for bloody revenge. To that period of his life, which didn´t include a certain former bartender and white Indian in one person...
At least, he still had Leo, his stubborn little brother. Unlike Kame, who had no blood relative left. However, Liwan might have something to say about that, if he knew what Jin was thinking.
Suddenly, a faint chill ran across his neck and Jin turned his head abruptly.
The cemetery and the visible part of the road under it was just as empty as they arrived, but he just could not shake off that chilly feeling - they were being watched. It reminded him that there could be quite a few people, who would not be as happy about their return as Harada or Mike were.
Many men used to work for Karnaka and their salary was definitely not low; he could verify it back then himself. They had no reason to be satisfied with him and Kame achieving revenge for their families. It would be foolish to assume that everybody forgot about them just after a few months. They really should keep their eyes open and weapons ready… The thought made him lower his hands to the gunstocks on his sides. They were there, silent and lethal as always.
Definitely not appeased, but seeing nothing suspicious, he turned back just as Kame straightened up. After a short hesitation, Jin moved and stood by his side, looking at the grave covered by some tiny white flowers again.
“What do you think your mother would say about me?” he asked quietly on a sudden impulse.
Kame glanced at him first, before his eyes returned to the name on the cross.
“When I talked with her for the last time, she knew…” he breathed out heavily, sinking in the memory. “She knew I care about you much more than I told her. And she was happy.”
Jin observed Kame´s face, not reacting as he felt that the younger one was about to say more.
“She said that I won´t end up being alone… And she was right,” Kame looked at him again. “You´re always by my side. I´m sure she would have liked you, Jin. A lot.”
*
Somewhat miraculously, always-sleepy Mike did as they had asked him to and their horses were waiting for them all ready in front of the saloon, when they returned. The stable boy was just pampering both Kuro and Ukushi with tiny apples, when he spotted their owners and backed away hastily.
“As you ordered, Misters!” the boy announced with an excessive bow and turned on his heel to flee to the safety of stables, when Jin´s hand grabbed his collar.
“Well, Kuro surely thanks you, kiddo,” he said in a strict voice. “But do not do that again; he´s spoiled enough already.”
To cover his smile, Kame began to check Ukushi´s saddle fastening, while startled Mike nodded vigorously: “Yes, sir!”
“Good,” Jin let the boy go. “And it´s Jin; how many times do I have to tell you?!”
Already running Mike just grinned over his shoulder and he was gone.
“Kids…” Jin grumbled as he turned to Kuro.
The black stallion answered his stare and shook his head.
“Do not pretend you didn´t do anything wrong, you calculating beast. Since when you take food from strangers, huh?” Jin scolded the animal, with no apparent success. Kuro just snorted, clearly letting his Master know that he was overreacting.
“Kuro knows very well that Mike´s no stranger and no danger,” Kame said, as he patted his mare. “Most of the time they´re cleverer than us.”
“I seriously doubt that,” his boyfriend objected, but couldn´t make himself sound more convinced.
Then Jin caught a glimpse of bright blue color, which was approaching Kame from behind. A quick check on the face belonging to the expressive dress made him reconsider his warning. He remembered that girl sneaking up to them; she was Kame´s friend and she had a more than obvious crush on him back then.
He grinned a bit on her effort to move closer quietly. Let her try, there was no one who could surprise his lover unprepared from behind. Well, except himself, of course.
The girl jumped forward and covered Kame´s eyes: “Who´s there?!” she called out in a forcefully deep voice.
Kame didn´t even flinch and an amused smile curved his lips: “Lena, I´ve known about you ever since you turned the corner.”
The girl giggled and let her hands slip down.
“Not fair! How could you tell so quickly?” despite her complaints, she hung herself around Kame´s neck as soon as he turned to face her.
Jin stared at the hugging couple until Kuro nudged him with his muzzle. Obviously, the girl´s crush hadn´t passed yet.
“Finally! You´re back!” Lena Brice eyed Kame from head to toes with a wide smile, which suddenly faltered. “And you look different…” she added frowning a little.
Kame laughed shortly: “Not at all. I´m still the same, only with shorter hair.”
Jin agreed with the girl though. As she mentioned it, he remembered how Kame looked like when he met him in Harada´s Saloon for the first time. The cute bartender from back then was a way too different from this young confident man with something dark hidden in his eyes. And it was not even a year ago…
“Well, anyway, I´m really happy to see you again!” the girl shook her first surprise off and she was smiling again. “You must come to us and tell us about your adventures! You will, right?”
Kame nodded hesitantly: “I´ll be glad to see also your parents, but we have something to do first. Sometimes later, all right?”
“Oh, yes…” the girl stepped a little aside to look at Jin, as she finally realized there were two of them. “Nice to see you, too, Jin.”
“Likewise, Lena,” the older one nodded shortly, pretending to be busy with his sac.
“So… You´re leaving right now?” Lena noted disappointed.
“Yes.”
The girl sighed: “All right, but come soon. You must tell us everything! All this time and no word from you!” she complained. “You cannot imagine how we were worried!”
Kame frowned: “No word?” he exchanged a short look with Jin over the backs of their horses.
“McFly hasn´t returned to the city?” Jin asked the question as the first.
“McFly? You mean Danny?” Lena tilted her head to the side frowning. “No, I don´t know anything about him. Why he exactly? He always kept running after that disgusting man, right?” Lena shook and hugged herself. “Just thinking that Grenet is running out there somewhere freely…”
Kame stiffened at first, before he glanced at Jin. The older one shrugged. It wasn´t only up to him to decide if they should tell something to the girl or not.
The younger one took a decisive breath: “Lena… I can assure you that Math Grenet is not going to hurt anyone anymore.”
“What? What do you mean?” the girl´s eyes widened. “How can you know?”
“Just trust me,” Kame replied firmly. “You don´t have to worry about him.”
The blonde girl was not exactly satisfied with such a response, but she didn´t want to argue with Kame when they just met.
“Well, I must go now, shopping duties. See you soon!” Lena waved and with rustling of her skirt, she rushed toward Franco´s Store.
Right after, both Jin and Kame swiftly mounted their animals.
“I wouldn´t worry about McFly too much,” Jin noted as he noticed a broody expression on the younger one´s face. “Anything could happen to him; it´s a long way up here from Colorado. Or he might have reconsidered.”
“Yeah, you´re right,” Kame nodded as he made Ukushi move gently. “It´s just… He seemed really persistent about going home.”
***
Wyoming Territory
Near Chugwater
“Guys… What would you say to a small detour?”
A comfortable, straight road, flooded by bright sunlight, reaching to the very horizon and encouraging him to follow it there and much further, suddenly darkened and seemed to get thinner and less accessible.
Cullen hardly suppressed an annoyed huff. Another one? They should finally decide what it´s gonna be and stop making excuses for prolonging this journey to the north.
First, he had to run all around Cheyenne just to hunt up an engagement ring for Jane. Leo insisted that she must have one and he couldn´t exactly go shopping himself.
Cullen wouldn´t have been surprised if those two wanted to arrange an official wedding ceremony for public right away, since behind their eyes full of stars and hearts was definitely not much thinking left. Thank God, they decided they want the older and even-harder-to-deal-with Akanishi present for that, so fortunately they could continue without causing such a ruckus.
And now, it was Nishikido´s turn, of course.
Cullen stopped his faithful horse and turned in the saddle with an expression about which he was convinced was sufficiently threatening.
“What detour now?” he snapped at the black-haired youngster who was staring in the direction of almost invisible road to the east. Which was not a direction they were supposed to take. “What the hell are you trying to accomplish? To make our travels harder?”
His raised voice reached also the ears of those lovebirds, who were closing their little travelling company.
“Come on, Cullen. We haven´t encountered any problems yet,” Leo assumed cheerfully before looking at Ryo. “Where do you want to go?”
The young Rider fidgeted in his saddle: “Well… I´m not any nostalgic sissy, you know that, but…”
“Spit it out, damn it,” Cullen growled.
“My family´s farm isn´t far away from here, so I thought it wouldn´t hurt to say hi to my old folks. Just because we´re already nearby, otherwise I wouldn´t…”
Cullen rolled his eyes. Not any nostalgic sissy, huh?
“I don´t remember these parts well…” Leo hesitated. “How far away?”
“A day of fast ride, not more,” Ryo assured him. “But if you rather want to hurry to Montana, I´ll understand.”
“Hmm… Well…” their leader looked at his fiancée.
“I´d like to meet Ryo´s family,” Jane answered the unspoken question smiling. “But it´s up to you the most, Leo. You´re the one rushing to find your older sibling...” she winked.
“Rushing? We´re not rushing so much,” Leo murmured frowning. “And I think that if we arrive there two days sooner or later won´t matter much.”
“Really?” Nishikido´s embarrassed face brightened up. “Will you go with me then?”
“I´d love to say ´no´, but since our dear leader has become so soft to any pleas around, I guess it´s ´yes´,” Cullen assumed caustically and turned his horse around.
Leo grinned at him: “Aren´t you an old spoilsport? I don´t see any reason for you to be so grumpy.”
“I´ve always been like that, Mr. Used-to-be-in-command” Cullen reacted flatly. “Let´s go and get this visit done before I grow really old on this journey.”
The Riders´ leader gaped as the oldest member of his gang passed by him: “Used to be? Hey! What do you mean by that?!”
***
Montana Territory
Fort Ellis
Lieutenant Cooper stared at his personal greatest enemy with all malice he could only found in himself, but it had no effect. The working table in front of him persistently remained just as jammed with papers, wanted posters and reports as before.
He thought that his permanent reassignment to the fort in Montana, a wild territory, which still lacked the rearranged, civilized face of the United States, would bring clashes with resistant Indians, arrests of dirty bandits and important tasks, such as supervision over the railway construction.
Instead, Major Doane had chosen him to act as a deputy commander in his absence and he was overwhelmed with paperwork and annoying requests of locals to protect them from practically non-existing dangers. Almost all Montana´s Indian tribes were already moved to the reservations and they were under constant supervision. As for outlaws, much wilder things were happening in Billings than in boring Bozeman and the railway construction continued too slowly for him to be bothered with it yet. Even though the owners of the company had already started requesting the preliminary assurances that the way for their iron horse was going to be free and safe. As if that was in his powers.
How he wished now for a new captain to be finally assigned to their fort. If there had been any higher-ranked officer present, he would never have been burdened with such a great responsibility. There was a huge chance for him to be promoted in case that he would deal with this task well, but he would rather return to field trips.
With a sigh, Lieutenant reached for one report on the top of uneven pile, which contained the current state of the fort and condition of all present soldiers. Checking supplies and his subordinates´ health was just one of necessary things to do for daily running of not only Fort Ellis, but of also other forts nearby, which were under his command now, he was more than well aware. But more than anything, it was a boring task to do. Therefore, he more than welcomed a sudden knock on the door.
“Come in!”
“Current gate patrol - Sergeant Garton reporting, sir!”
Cooper dropped the pencil and focused on his subordinate fully: “At ease, Sergeant. Those farmers came again?”
“No, sir. Two strangers. They´re asking to speak with you regarding to the Blackfeet Indian reservation.”
That sounded like a proper distraction from his usual chores, Cooper assumed.
“Have they introduced themselves?”
“Kamenashi and Akanishi, sir. And honestly, they look suspicious,” the soldier added with a slight frown.
All the better, finally something interesting, he thought. Not to mention that those names sounded somewhat familiar to him.
“Let them in, Sergeant. Disarmed.”
“Yes, sir!”
Shortly, two young Asian men were allowed to enter the commander´s office. Lieutenant Cooper eyed them surprised. He was correct remembering their names. At the end of last year, he was a member of Captain Walker´s unit, when the trial with certain Math Grenet took place in Bozeman. If he recalled correctly, Kamenashi was one of the witnesses and Akanishi accompanied him.
“Thank you for accepting us, sir,” the younger of the two spoke first.
“Too soon to thank me, Mr. Kamenashi,” Cooper reacted seriously. “I don´t even know what brings you here yet.”
“A hope that you can help us,” Kamenashi replied.
Which has been quite futile so far, Jin thought, not feeling very optimistic.
He was more than willing to accompany Kame wherever necessary, but seeing the skinny, thin-haired commander of Fort Ellis didn´t raise his hopes for them to be successful here. However, he had to admit - the soldier´s eyes were bright and focused directly on them. He knew that the first impression might have been confusing…
Wondering if Lieutenant´s sharp glance on his face meant something more than cautiousness, Jin remained standing close to the door, on the spot from which he could see outside and let Kame handle the conversation, just as in the previous forts.
Lieutenant Cooper stood up and went around the table to face them properly, which gained him even more credit from Jin´s point of view.
“Help you with what?” he asked seriously.
It took Kame only around two minutes to describe their problem with that idiotic soldier from Fort Shaw, who was making a mess with government rations for local Indians. He was brief and accurate as always and even managed not to seem annoyed, as Jin would have been in his place. He had already explained that situation more than a few times…
Lieutenant Cooper let Kame talk without interruptions.
“I understand,” he noted thoughtfully then. “But what about the other forts or outposts in that area? Why have you come all the way here?”
“Anywhere else on the way from the reservation we were turned down,” Kame reacted and even though he tried, he couldn´t completely cover disappointment in his voice.
Lieutenant frowned and Jin could tell he didn´t like that statement.
“Well, I will send someone to check on this situation, but if it´s as serious as you say, it would be better for someone with proper authorization to deal with it.”
They had already heard this kind of excuse; it was the same all over again.
“What about yourself?” Jin suggested caustically, not holding back this time.
“Unfortunately, I cannot leave this fort for long at the moment, I´m just a substitute commander,” surprisingly, it didn´t even sounded as a lie. “But anyway, I meant someone from Office of Indian Affairs,” Cooper turned to his table again, pushing some newspapers aside. “If I remember correctly, there is currently no Agent in Montana...”
“Agent? What do you mean by that?” Kame asked.
“Indian Agent. A person authorized to negotiate between Indians, white settlers, and our government. And capable of solving just such cases as the one you mentioned,” Lieutenant explained willingly, glancing at some list of names with a huge stamp. “Yes, I was right. There was nobody assigned in this territory yet… But I´ve got an idea,” he turned to them again. “You should address directly the Office in Washington with this.”
“You mean to write a letter of complaint to them?” Kame reacted somewhat grimly. “Yes, I was thinking about this option as well, since I´ve already heard about this institution, but there is no guarantee anyone in Washington will actually read it, Lieutenant. We need to solve this as soon as possible.”
Cooper nodded seriously: “I must admit you´re right… But I will write a recommendation letter for you, which you can attach to it, so your request will have the greater value. I will also send the short telegram to inform them about this in advance. They should be aware if the rations distribution is incorrect and they´re obligated to do something about it. Then, they should send someone competent to solve this situation soon.”
Kame kept silent for a few seconds, probably considering the mentioned suggestion and his next words: “That doesn´t sound so bad… But honestly, Lieutenant, I was hoping for assistance from somewhere closer than Washington.”
Lieutenant Cooper straightened up, with his expression suddenly very stern: “I appreciate your efforts to help those people, but I´m sorry - I cannot do more for you now. My authorizations are quite limited. Just wait outside for a moment; I will prepare that letter for you.”
Jin noticed how Kame´s shoulders went down a bit. He knew when to give up.
He nodded slowly: “All right… Thank you.”
Either it was sympathy or responsibility, Jin didn´t know, but something made Cooper speak again: “Look, Mr. Kamenashi. Once he´s available, I will discuss it with my superior and go there for inspection myself,” he promised. “But the Office in Washington is the best way to deal with this, trust me.”
Observing the blue-uniformed man closely the whole time, Jin didn´t have a reason not to believe that Cooper will try to do what he said at least. And obviously, Kame came to the same conclusion, as he reached out his right hand to the man: “I understand and thank you again, Lieutenant.”
They both turned to leave, when Cooper stopped them: “Just a moment yet! Mr. Akanishi…”
Jin´s hand subconsciously flinched to his empty gun belt. He didn´t like how that addressing sounded. He slowly turned to face Lieutenant again: “Yes?”
“I´ve just remembered,” Cooper was once again digging something out of the pile of papers. “Ah, here we go… Yes, he´s still wanted. By any chance, do you have any news about your brother?” he asked, burying his sharp eyes to Jin´s.
There was only one second of silence before a cold reply came from Jin: “No. Haven´t heard from him for years.”
Another silence came, longer and tenser than the previous one, before the wanted poster was thrown back on the table.
“Well, all right then,” Cooper gestured them toward the door. “Just wait for a while; it won´t take me long to prepare that letter.”
***
State of Colorado
Laporte Sandstone Quarry
After one last glance on the most important parts of the contract, Cameron swiftly signed it and pushed both copies over the table. The mayor didn´t bother with any additional check and just scratched own signatures next to his.
“We´re done then. Sixty percent of the quarry and its profits are yours now, Mayor,” Cameron handed one original over to Danny, who stood beside the table, without letting his sight off the satisfied man. The mayor folded the paper and hid it in the inner pocket of his neat coat. “Your accountant is already waiting outside, so you can make necessary arrangements with him right away.”
“Great! Pleasure to make business with you, Mr. Henderson,” his new partner stood up and reached out his hand, which Cameron accepted. “Have a safe journey.”
“Thank you.”
The mayor would probably not be this happy if he knew that Cameron recommended that accountant to him for very specific reasons. He had his own deal with the man of numbers.
Mr. Troy was supposed to do a proper accounting when it came to the sandstone, but as for other profits, which this greedy mayor of Fort Collins knew nothing about, those would be reported only to Cameron himself. It cost him some lands, but that was a small prize for keeping the income from his silver side business.
“Danny, call Marty here.”
The boy nodded and headed outside the office right behind the mayor.
Cameron had already given orders to all foremen before and he was not worried about the proper running of the quarry. But there was one special task which he needed to assign before leaving.
The robust man entered the room chewing tobacco, which was a rather disgusting habit, but Cameron could deal with it since Marty turned out to be quite reliable when it came to the sensitive tasks.
“Thank you, Danny.”
Just one look was enough for the boy to know he was supposed to leave them alone now and so he did.
“You reconsidered and want me to come along, Chief?” Marty guessed with his thumbs hooked in the trousers´ pockets.
“No. I´ve already told you I´ve got something else for you,” Cameron pulled out the last paper, which was hidden in the drawer of his table. “This is the list of people from Denver and surrounding area who were interrogated in relation to Black Riders and insisted they know nothing. I want you to find them and pull everything they know from them. Pretend you need help from Riders first or something like that, they may open up. If that doesn´t work, use force. Report everything you find out to me, to Billings. Understood?”
Chewing Marty nodded: “No problem, Chief. And as for my…?”
The stack of notes landed in front of the man before he even finished the sentence.
“This is the first part of your additional reward, you´ll get more if you find me any useful information.”
The dollars disappeared in the gunman´s pocket with admirable speed.
“Got it, boss,” his underling grinned more than satisfied. “You can count on me.”
*
A few minutes later, Cameron was already packed up, satisfied with how clean his office looked, and ready to go with the last and the most important suitcase in hand. Just as he stood up, there came an unexpected short knock, followed by the brown-haired youngster´s head peeking inside.
Danny was supposed to wait for him in the stables, and he wouldn´t have come if something important hadn´t happened; the boy had already learned that much.
“What is it, Danny?” Cameron asked frowning. ”Any problems?”
“No, sir. Just the post boy brought this telegram for you.”
Cameron took the envelope over from Danny´s fingers curiously, wondering if Tabor wanted something in the last minute. But the sender´s address said that the message was sent from Montana…
“What the…” only slightly widened eyes were a sign that something surprised Cameron Henderson. “Well, damn me… Danny?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Give that boy from the post office two bucks and then catch up with Marty. Tell him there is one small change in what I told him. I need him to send his reports to Bozeman.”
- To be continued -
Credit for banner:
witchann2
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading:
atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
A/N: Also in this chapter we´re about to ´visit´ Montana, Wyoming and Colorado...
Enjoy and thank you in advance in any comment you´d like to share. ^_^
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven //
Echoes of the past
Kame was not sure what woke him up, but he didn´t want to leave the comforting embrace of calm sleep yet. It felt unusually comfortable and familiarly safe at the same time. Only once he was conscious enough to realize an arm thrown across his body in quite a possessive way, he knew the reason.
Keeping his eyes closed, he smiled. Apparently, Jin slipped into his bed sometime during the night.
He fidgeted a little, nestling in a more comfortable position, now even less willing to get up. The firm body attached to his slightly moved as well. Shortly after that, Kame felt a warm breath on his ear.
“Why didn´t you wake me up?” the mumbled words sounded only half-awake, but reproachfully anyway.
Kame turned his head to look at Jin, who was watching him with his eyes opened only for a narrow cranny.
“I came in quite late and had no heart to do it,” he justified himself softly. “You seemed enjoying your bed a lot.”
“More than you with me in it? Nonsense,” Jin grumbled and strengthened the grip around him, as he let the eyelids to cover his sight again. “What took you so long?”
“Harada refused to accept any money for dinner, so I helped him to clean up the taproom at least.”
“That definitely sounds like you,” the older one assumed with resignation.
Kame observed the calm face of his lover for a while, before he reached out and ran through his short stubble tenderly.
“What is it?” Jin asked quietly, reacting on the unusual touch.
“I… I´d like to stop by somewhere,” Kame replied slowly. “Before we go to the fort.”
Hearing the strange tone, Jin opened his eyes: “Sure. Where?”
Sadness appeared in the younger one´s eyes and somehow, Jin knew what was on his mind.
“You want to visit your mother´s grave?” he guessed.
“Yeah,” Kame confirmed, cuddling closer into his embrace.
Jin hesitated only for a short moment: “Want me to come along?”
Chestnut eyes buried into his, pleasantly surprised: “If you´d like…”
“Of course I would. But only if you give me ten more minutes in this bed.”
“Even twenty, serve yourself,” Kame assured him smiling, patted his lips in a short, tender kiss and then sat up. Well, rather he only tried, as Jin dragged him back right away.
“With you in it as well, dummy…”
*
An hour later, two young gunslingers came out of the saloon´s door, repaid the greeting of Mr. Harada, who was just enjoying his morning coffee and cigarette on the veranda, and joined the growing hustle on the street. Side by side, they passed by Franko´s Store, heading for the calmer parts of the city.
Maybe, if the two weren´t so busy with keeping their hands in pockets and their smiles not too bright, they might have noticed the black man, who peeked out of the store with his eyes wide. He stared at them, until they turned around the corner. Then this man threw away the small bread that he had been holding in his hand so far and accompanied with an angry yell from inside the store, he stormed out on the street.
Ignoring the swearing of people he pushed aside, he hurried to the outskirts of Bozeman, and then toward the line of small, ugly chalets. Within five minutes, he was pounding on the door of one, located a bit aside from the others. When it finally moved under his fist, he almost fell over the threshold.
“What the hell, man?!” the owner of the small house welcomed him frowning. “You´d disturb even dead from their grave!”
“You´re gonna have to thank me yet, you´ll see!” his breathless acquaintance from Karnaka´s farm reacted. “Come!”
“Where to?”
“I´ll show you! Hurry, before they get lost somewhere again!”
Ned realized that he wouldn´t get rid of the excited man so easily and grabbed his waistcoat from the rusty hanger.
“Maria, hon´, I´ll be right back!” he called over his shoulder.
“What´s going on, Ned?” the woman´s voice asked from their kitchen.
“Nothin´ serious. I´ll tell you then!” Ned closed the door and followed his friend, who was already rushing him back to the city center. “If you´re kiddin´ and disturbed me from fine breakfast for nothin´, man, I´ll push your face into dung, got it?”
*
The Bozeman cemetery surrounded by leafy trees was located on the mild slope north of the city and it had a breathtaking view on the Rockies. Not that any of its residents would appreciate it.
Not many graves were necessary to dig out for local citizens yet, and if not for depressing crosses rising from low grass, it would have been a calm, beautiful place. Unlike that muddy hole, which he was forced to live in now, because he couldn´t afford any better place.
“See them? As I told you!” Alphonse, cowering behind one of the trees just a bit aside of the road, whispered urgently.
Yes, he saw those two familiar youngsters by one of the graves almost on the very top of the slope.
“Yeah… And?” Ned stared at his companion, leaning his back over another tree.
“Don´t play dumb!” Alphonse burst out before he remembered that he was supposed to be inconspicuous. “I know you recognize them just as I do!”
Ned nodded: “Yeah, but I don´t get you anyway.”
Crouching black man gave him an incredulous look: “You didn’t forget what they did, did you?”
“I didn´t. What about it?” he shrugged. “The farm is gone and Karnaka dead. Nothing changes that. I don´t give a shit about what those two ´re doing here.”
“Man, you pretend to be smart, but you´re seriously dumb!” Alphonse snorted. “Don´t you remember what Cameron said? How much he wanted to avenge his hundred-time-damned master?”
Ned frowned. He definitely remembered that scary expression, just as the feeling he had when he realized how dangerous this former personal servant and butler could be. He didn´t want to meddle with that man anymore.
“And what do we have to do with it?” he asked with a bad hunch, seeing his old buddy´s expression.
“We should let him know they´re back here!” Alphonse clarified it for him quite excitedly.
“What for?” Ned snorted.
“For a reward of course!” the other man raised his voice again, before lowering it even more than before. “I met my cousin a few weeks ago and he heard that our Mr. Cameron´s doing more than fine down in Colorado. Don´t you think he might be grateful?”
That was quite possible, but Ned still didn´t like the idea: “I wouldn´t be so sure about that…”
“We don´t know until we try!” Alphonse continued persistently. “I´ve had enough of shitty jobs and empty stomach! What can we lose?”
Ned sighed, as he glanced towards the certain grave again: “I don´t know, man… They did nothing to me. Why should I…”
“Nothing? Nothing?!” his friend interrupted him harshly. “You lost a great job, dumbass! You can´t even feed your woman properly! And you wanted a real house, didn´t you? How do you want to get money for it? Working for those stingy railway bastards? You´ve already tried and you know that next time it´s gonna kill you!”
He had to admit that Alphonse was right. But it didn´t make him feel any better about getting involved with the former Karnaka´s shadow again.
“Never mind!” Alphonse hissed, when Ned kept stubbornly silent. “I´m gonna send that telegram, you do what you want! But don´t come after me crying for a share of what I pull off Cameron then!”
*
Looking at the name engraved in simple letters, Jin felt vague regret. He didn´t have a chance to become more acquainted with Kame´s mother, before that bastard Grenet, let him rot in Hell, murdered her. He would have liked to know the woman who raised his incredible lover after the tragedy, which fell upon their family; she had to be a wonderful character. He wondered where the rest of Kame´s family was buried, but it would have been awful of him to ask about it now.
Kazuya was squatting in front of the simple cross in silence, his head lowered and eyes closed. Jin could imagine that it was not easy for him to come back to his hometown, even though he didn´t utter even a word of complaint. Kame had to face many bad memories sneering at him from behind almost every corner here. Nevertheless, he went to see this grave and remembered his late mother. Jin considered his lover brave just for that.
While they were in Billings, he did not even think about the graves of his parents and best friend. He subconsciously prevented himself from it. He didn´t want his mind to slip back to those times he felt nothing but dark desire for bloody revenge. To that period of his life, which didn´t include a certain former bartender and white Indian in one person...
At least, he still had Leo, his stubborn little brother. Unlike Kame, who had no blood relative left. However, Liwan might have something to say about that, if he knew what Jin was thinking.
Suddenly, a faint chill ran across his neck and Jin turned his head abruptly.
The cemetery and the visible part of the road under it was just as empty as they arrived, but he just could not shake off that chilly feeling - they were being watched. It reminded him that there could be quite a few people, who would not be as happy about their return as Harada or Mike were.
Many men used to work for Karnaka and their salary was definitely not low; he could verify it back then himself. They had no reason to be satisfied with him and Kame achieving revenge for their families. It would be foolish to assume that everybody forgot about them just after a few months. They really should keep their eyes open and weapons ready… The thought made him lower his hands to the gunstocks on his sides. They were there, silent and lethal as always.
Definitely not appeased, but seeing nothing suspicious, he turned back just as Kame straightened up. After a short hesitation, Jin moved and stood by his side, looking at the grave covered by some tiny white flowers again.
“What do you think your mother would say about me?” he asked quietly on a sudden impulse.
Kame glanced at him first, before his eyes returned to the name on the cross.
“When I talked with her for the last time, she knew…” he breathed out heavily, sinking in the memory. “She knew I care about you much more than I told her. And she was happy.”
Jin observed Kame´s face, not reacting as he felt that the younger one was about to say more.
“She said that I won´t end up being alone… And she was right,” Kame looked at him again. “You´re always by my side. I´m sure she would have liked you, Jin. A lot.”
*
Somewhat miraculously, always-sleepy Mike did as they had asked him to and their horses were waiting for them all ready in front of the saloon, when they returned. The stable boy was just pampering both Kuro and Ukushi with tiny apples, when he spotted their owners and backed away hastily.
“As you ordered, Misters!” the boy announced with an excessive bow and turned on his heel to flee to the safety of stables, when Jin´s hand grabbed his collar.
“Well, Kuro surely thanks you, kiddo,” he said in a strict voice. “But do not do that again; he´s spoiled enough already.”
To cover his smile, Kame began to check Ukushi´s saddle fastening, while startled Mike nodded vigorously: “Yes, sir!”
“Good,” Jin let the boy go. “And it´s Jin; how many times do I have to tell you?!”
Already running Mike just grinned over his shoulder and he was gone.
“Kids…” Jin grumbled as he turned to Kuro.
The black stallion answered his stare and shook his head.
“Do not pretend you didn´t do anything wrong, you calculating beast. Since when you take food from strangers, huh?” Jin scolded the animal, with no apparent success. Kuro just snorted, clearly letting his Master know that he was overreacting.
“Kuro knows very well that Mike´s no stranger and no danger,” Kame said, as he patted his mare. “Most of the time they´re cleverer than us.”
“I seriously doubt that,” his boyfriend objected, but couldn´t make himself sound more convinced.
Then Jin caught a glimpse of bright blue color, which was approaching Kame from behind. A quick check on the face belonging to the expressive dress made him reconsider his warning. He remembered that girl sneaking up to them; she was Kame´s friend and she had a more than obvious crush on him back then.
He grinned a bit on her effort to move closer quietly. Let her try, there was no one who could surprise his lover unprepared from behind. Well, except himself, of course.
The girl jumped forward and covered Kame´s eyes: “Who´s there?!” she called out in a forcefully deep voice.
Kame didn´t even flinch and an amused smile curved his lips: “Lena, I´ve known about you ever since you turned the corner.”
The girl giggled and let her hands slip down.
“Not fair! How could you tell so quickly?” despite her complaints, she hung herself around Kame´s neck as soon as he turned to face her.
Jin stared at the hugging couple until Kuro nudged him with his muzzle. Obviously, the girl´s crush hadn´t passed yet.
“Finally! You´re back!” Lena Brice eyed Kame from head to toes with a wide smile, which suddenly faltered. “And you look different…” she added frowning a little.
Kame laughed shortly: “Not at all. I´m still the same, only with shorter hair.”
Jin agreed with the girl though. As she mentioned it, he remembered how Kame looked like when he met him in Harada´s Saloon for the first time. The cute bartender from back then was a way too different from this young confident man with something dark hidden in his eyes. And it was not even a year ago…
“Well, anyway, I´m really happy to see you again!” the girl shook her first surprise off and she was smiling again. “You must come to us and tell us about your adventures! You will, right?”
Kame nodded hesitantly: “I´ll be glad to see also your parents, but we have something to do first. Sometimes later, all right?”
“Oh, yes…” the girl stepped a little aside to look at Jin, as she finally realized there were two of them. “Nice to see you, too, Jin.”
“Likewise, Lena,” the older one nodded shortly, pretending to be busy with his sac.
“So… You´re leaving right now?” Lena noted disappointed.
“Yes.”
The girl sighed: “All right, but come soon. You must tell us everything! All this time and no word from you!” she complained. “You cannot imagine how we were worried!”
Kame frowned: “No word?” he exchanged a short look with Jin over the backs of their horses.
“McFly hasn´t returned to the city?” Jin asked the question as the first.
“McFly? You mean Danny?” Lena tilted her head to the side frowning. “No, I don´t know anything about him. Why he exactly? He always kept running after that disgusting man, right?” Lena shook and hugged herself. “Just thinking that Grenet is running out there somewhere freely…”
Kame stiffened at first, before he glanced at Jin. The older one shrugged. It wasn´t only up to him to decide if they should tell something to the girl or not.
The younger one took a decisive breath: “Lena… I can assure you that Math Grenet is not going to hurt anyone anymore.”
“What? What do you mean?” the girl´s eyes widened. “How can you know?”
“Just trust me,” Kame replied firmly. “You don´t have to worry about him.”
The blonde girl was not exactly satisfied with such a response, but she didn´t want to argue with Kame when they just met.
“Well, I must go now, shopping duties. See you soon!” Lena waved and with rustling of her skirt, she rushed toward Franco´s Store.
Right after, both Jin and Kame swiftly mounted their animals.
“I wouldn´t worry about McFly too much,” Jin noted as he noticed a broody expression on the younger one´s face. “Anything could happen to him; it´s a long way up here from Colorado. Or he might have reconsidered.”
“Yeah, you´re right,” Kame nodded as he made Ukushi move gently. “It´s just… He seemed really persistent about going home.”
***
Wyoming Territory
Near Chugwater
“Guys… What would you say to a small detour?”
A comfortable, straight road, flooded by bright sunlight, reaching to the very horizon and encouraging him to follow it there and much further, suddenly darkened and seemed to get thinner and less accessible.
Cullen hardly suppressed an annoyed huff. Another one? They should finally decide what it´s gonna be and stop making excuses for prolonging this journey to the north.
First, he had to run all around Cheyenne just to hunt up an engagement ring for Jane. Leo insisted that she must have one and he couldn´t exactly go shopping himself.
Cullen wouldn´t have been surprised if those two wanted to arrange an official wedding ceremony for public right away, since behind their eyes full of stars and hearts was definitely not much thinking left. Thank God, they decided they want the older and even-harder-to-deal-with Akanishi present for that, so fortunately they could continue without causing such a ruckus.
And now, it was Nishikido´s turn, of course.
Cullen stopped his faithful horse and turned in the saddle with an expression about which he was convinced was sufficiently threatening.
“What detour now?” he snapped at the black-haired youngster who was staring in the direction of almost invisible road to the east. Which was not a direction they were supposed to take. “What the hell are you trying to accomplish? To make our travels harder?”
His raised voice reached also the ears of those lovebirds, who were closing their little travelling company.
“Come on, Cullen. We haven´t encountered any problems yet,” Leo assumed cheerfully before looking at Ryo. “Where do you want to go?”
The young Rider fidgeted in his saddle: “Well… I´m not any nostalgic sissy, you know that, but…”
“Spit it out, damn it,” Cullen growled.
“My family´s farm isn´t far away from here, so I thought it wouldn´t hurt to say hi to my old folks. Just because we´re already nearby, otherwise I wouldn´t…”
Cullen rolled his eyes. Not any nostalgic sissy, huh?
“I don´t remember these parts well…” Leo hesitated. “How far away?”
“A day of fast ride, not more,” Ryo assured him. “But if you rather want to hurry to Montana, I´ll understand.”
“Hmm… Well…” their leader looked at his fiancée.
“I´d like to meet Ryo´s family,” Jane answered the unspoken question smiling. “But it´s up to you the most, Leo. You´re the one rushing to find your older sibling...” she winked.
“Rushing? We´re not rushing so much,” Leo murmured frowning. “And I think that if we arrive there two days sooner or later won´t matter much.”
“Really?” Nishikido´s embarrassed face brightened up. “Will you go with me then?”
“I´d love to say ´no´, but since our dear leader has become so soft to any pleas around, I guess it´s ´yes´,” Cullen assumed caustically and turned his horse around.
Leo grinned at him: “Aren´t you an old spoilsport? I don´t see any reason for you to be so grumpy.”
“I´ve always been like that, Mr. Used-to-be-in-command” Cullen reacted flatly. “Let´s go and get this visit done before I grow really old on this journey.”
The Riders´ leader gaped as the oldest member of his gang passed by him: “Used to be? Hey! What do you mean by that?!”
***
Montana Territory
Fort Ellis
Lieutenant Cooper stared at his personal greatest enemy with all malice he could only found in himself, but it had no effect. The working table in front of him persistently remained just as jammed with papers, wanted posters and reports as before.
He thought that his permanent reassignment to the fort in Montana, a wild territory, which still lacked the rearranged, civilized face of the United States, would bring clashes with resistant Indians, arrests of dirty bandits and important tasks, such as supervision over the railway construction.
Instead, Major Doane had chosen him to act as a deputy commander in his absence and he was overwhelmed with paperwork and annoying requests of locals to protect them from practically non-existing dangers. Almost all Montana´s Indian tribes were already moved to the reservations and they were under constant supervision. As for outlaws, much wilder things were happening in Billings than in boring Bozeman and the railway construction continued too slowly for him to be bothered with it yet. Even though the owners of the company had already started requesting the preliminary assurances that the way for their iron horse was going to be free and safe. As if that was in his powers.
How he wished now for a new captain to be finally assigned to their fort. If there had been any higher-ranked officer present, he would never have been burdened with such a great responsibility. There was a huge chance for him to be promoted in case that he would deal with this task well, but he would rather return to field trips.
With a sigh, Lieutenant reached for one report on the top of uneven pile, which contained the current state of the fort and condition of all present soldiers. Checking supplies and his subordinates´ health was just one of necessary things to do for daily running of not only Fort Ellis, but of also other forts nearby, which were under his command now, he was more than well aware. But more than anything, it was a boring task to do. Therefore, he more than welcomed a sudden knock on the door.
“Come in!”
“Current gate patrol - Sergeant Garton reporting, sir!”
Cooper dropped the pencil and focused on his subordinate fully: “At ease, Sergeant. Those farmers came again?”
“No, sir. Two strangers. They´re asking to speak with you regarding to the Blackfeet Indian reservation.”
That sounded like a proper distraction from his usual chores, Cooper assumed.
“Have they introduced themselves?”
“Kamenashi and Akanishi, sir. And honestly, they look suspicious,” the soldier added with a slight frown.
All the better, finally something interesting, he thought. Not to mention that those names sounded somewhat familiar to him.
“Let them in, Sergeant. Disarmed.”
“Yes, sir!”
Shortly, two young Asian men were allowed to enter the commander´s office. Lieutenant Cooper eyed them surprised. He was correct remembering their names. At the end of last year, he was a member of Captain Walker´s unit, when the trial with certain Math Grenet took place in Bozeman. If he recalled correctly, Kamenashi was one of the witnesses and Akanishi accompanied him.
“Thank you for accepting us, sir,” the younger of the two spoke first.
“Too soon to thank me, Mr. Kamenashi,” Cooper reacted seriously. “I don´t even know what brings you here yet.”
“A hope that you can help us,” Kamenashi replied.
Which has been quite futile so far, Jin thought, not feeling very optimistic.
He was more than willing to accompany Kame wherever necessary, but seeing the skinny, thin-haired commander of Fort Ellis didn´t raise his hopes for them to be successful here. However, he had to admit - the soldier´s eyes were bright and focused directly on them. He knew that the first impression might have been confusing…
Wondering if Lieutenant´s sharp glance on his face meant something more than cautiousness, Jin remained standing close to the door, on the spot from which he could see outside and let Kame handle the conversation, just as in the previous forts.
Lieutenant Cooper stood up and went around the table to face them properly, which gained him even more credit from Jin´s point of view.
“Help you with what?” he asked seriously.
It took Kame only around two minutes to describe their problem with that idiotic soldier from Fort Shaw, who was making a mess with government rations for local Indians. He was brief and accurate as always and even managed not to seem annoyed, as Jin would have been in his place. He had already explained that situation more than a few times…
Lieutenant Cooper let Kame talk without interruptions.
“I understand,” he noted thoughtfully then. “But what about the other forts or outposts in that area? Why have you come all the way here?”
“Anywhere else on the way from the reservation we were turned down,” Kame reacted and even though he tried, he couldn´t completely cover disappointment in his voice.
Lieutenant frowned and Jin could tell he didn´t like that statement.
“Well, I will send someone to check on this situation, but if it´s as serious as you say, it would be better for someone with proper authorization to deal with it.”
They had already heard this kind of excuse; it was the same all over again.
“What about yourself?” Jin suggested caustically, not holding back this time.
“Unfortunately, I cannot leave this fort for long at the moment, I´m just a substitute commander,” surprisingly, it didn´t even sounded as a lie. “But anyway, I meant someone from Office of Indian Affairs,” Cooper turned to his table again, pushing some newspapers aside. “If I remember correctly, there is currently no Agent in Montana...”
“Agent? What do you mean by that?” Kame asked.
“Indian Agent. A person authorized to negotiate between Indians, white settlers, and our government. And capable of solving just such cases as the one you mentioned,” Lieutenant explained willingly, glancing at some list of names with a huge stamp. “Yes, I was right. There was nobody assigned in this territory yet… But I´ve got an idea,” he turned to them again. “You should address directly the Office in Washington with this.”
“You mean to write a letter of complaint to them?” Kame reacted somewhat grimly. “Yes, I was thinking about this option as well, since I´ve already heard about this institution, but there is no guarantee anyone in Washington will actually read it, Lieutenant. We need to solve this as soon as possible.”
Cooper nodded seriously: “I must admit you´re right… But I will write a recommendation letter for you, which you can attach to it, so your request will have the greater value. I will also send the short telegram to inform them about this in advance. They should be aware if the rations distribution is incorrect and they´re obligated to do something about it. Then, they should send someone competent to solve this situation soon.”
Kame kept silent for a few seconds, probably considering the mentioned suggestion and his next words: “That doesn´t sound so bad… But honestly, Lieutenant, I was hoping for assistance from somewhere closer than Washington.”
Lieutenant Cooper straightened up, with his expression suddenly very stern: “I appreciate your efforts to help those people, but I´m sorry - I cannot do more for you now. My authorizations are quite limited. Just wait outside for a moment; I will prepare that letter for you.”
Jin noticed how Kame´s shoulders went down a bit. He knew when to give up.
He nodded slowly: “All right… Thank you.”
Either it was sympathy or responsibility, Jin didn´t know, but something made Cooper speak again: “Look, Mr. Kamenashi. Once he´s available, I will discuss it with my superior and go there for inspection myself,” he promised. “But the Office in Washington is the best way to deal with this, trust me.”
Observing the blue-uniformed man closely the whole time, Jin didn´t have a reason not to believe that Cooper will try to do what he said at least. And obviously, Kame came to the same conclusion, as he reached out his right hand to the man: “I understand and thank you again, Lieutenant.”
They both turned to leave, when Cooper stopped them: “Just a moment yet! Mr. Akanishi…”
Jin´s hand subconsciously flinched to his empty gun belt. He didn´t like how that addressing sounded. He slowly turned to face Lieutenant again: “Yes?”
“I´ve just remembered,” Cooper was once again digging something out of the pile of papers. “Ah, here we go… Yes, he´s still wanted. By any chance, do you have any news about your brother?” he asked, burying his sharp eyes to Jin´s.
There was only one second of silence before a cold reply came from Jin: “No. Haven´t heard from him for years.”
Another silence came, longer and tenser than the previous one, before the wanted poster was thrown back on the table.
“Well, all right then,” Cooper gestured them toward the door. “Just wait for a while; it won´t take me long to prepare that letter.”
***
State of Colorado
Laporte Sandstone Quarry
After one last glance on the most important parts of the contract, Cameron swiftly signed it and pushed both copies over the table. The mayor didn´t bother with any additional check and just scratched own signatures next to his.
“We´re done then. Sixty percent of the quarry and its profits are yours now, Mayor,” Cameron handed one original over to Danny, who stood beside the table, without letting his sight off the satisfied man. The mayor folded the paper and hid it in the inner pocket of his neat coat. “Your accountant is already waiting outside, so you can make necessary arrangements with him right away.”
“Great! Pleasure to make business with you, Mr. Henderson,” his new partner stood up and reached out his hand, which Cameron accepted. “Have a safe journey.”
“Thank you.”
The mayor would probably not be this happy if he knew that Cameron recommended that accountant to him for very specific reasons. He had his own deal with the man of numbers.
Mr. Troy was supposed to do a proper accounting when it came to the sandstone, but as for other profits, which this greedy mayor of Fort Collins knew nothing about, those would be reported only to Cameron himself. It cost him some lands, but that was a small prize for keeping the income from his silver side business.
“Danny, call Marty here.”
The boy nodded and headed outside the office right behind the mayor.
Cameron had already given orders to all foremen before and he was not worried about the proper running of the quarry. But there was one special task which he needed to assign before leaving.
The robust man entered the room chewing tobacco, which was a rather disgusting habit, but Cameron could deal with it since Marty turned out to be quite reliable when it came to the sensitive tasks.
“Thank you, Danny.”
Just one look was enough for the boy to know he was supposed to leave them alone now and so he did.
“You reconsidered and want me to come along, Chief?” Marty guessed with his thumbs hooked in the trousers´ pockets.
“No. I´ve already told you I´ve got something else for you,” Cameron pulled out the last paper, which was hidden in the drawer of his table. “This is the list of people from Denver and surrounding area who were interrogated in relation to Black Riders and insisted they know nothing. I want you to find them and pull everything they know from them. Pretend you need help from Riders first or something like that, they may open up. If that doesn´t work, use force. Report everything you find out to me, to Billings. Understood?”
Chewing Marty nodded: “No problem, Chief. And as for my…?”
The stack of notes landed in front of the man before he even finished the sentence.
“This is the first part of your additional reward, you´ll get more if you find me any useful information.”
The dollars disappeared in the gunman´s pocket with admirable speed.
“Got it, boss,” his underling grinned more than satisfied. “You can count on me.”
*
A few minutes later, Cameron was already packed up, satisfied with how clean his office looked, and ready to go with the last and the most important suitcase in hand. Just as he stood up, there came an unexpected short knock, followed by the brown-haired youngster´s head peeking inside.
Danny was supposed to wait for him in the stables, and he wouldn´t have come if something important hadn´t happened; the boy had already learned that much.
“What is it, Danny?” Cameron asked frowning. ”Any problems?”
“No, sir. Just the post boy brought this telegram for you.”
Cameron took the envelope over from Danny´s fingers curiously, wondering if Tabor wanted something in the last minute. But the sender´s address said that the message was sent from Montana…
“What the…” only slightly widened eyes were a sign that something surprised Cameron Henderson. “Well, damn me… Danny?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Give that boy from the post office two bucks and then catch up with Marty. Tell him there is one small change in what I told him. I need him to send his reports to Bozeman.”
- To be continued -
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