Chapter Text
A small wagon train slowly meandered down the road leading away from the mountains. The train itself was composed of four wagons with three men on horseback. The riders stayed close to the wagons, only leaving their posts to scout the surrounding area.
A few miles outside of a small livestock community the locals called Valentine, two of the three scouts had returned with nothing to report to their leader.
However, the third rider returned, riding slowly as he made his way to the head wagon.
At first glance the boy seemed relaxed and unhurried with little to nothing to report, but to the man in the lead wagon the incoming rider sat stiffly in the saddle, his hat pulled low in an attempt to hide his face though he pushed it back once he pulled his horse abreast to the lead wagon.
"Well, Lenny? Got anything to report?"
The boy's dark eyes flicked to the man in the wagon as he nodded grimly, "Yeah, Dutch. There's a road-block about a mile ahead with government men stopping and inspecting every wagon."
Dutch's expression never changed save for his eyes narrowing in concern as he mulled over the information.
"Now, why would the government of this ‘great nation’ set up a road block outside of an unremarkable livestock town?"
Lenny's lips twitched at Dutch's sarcastic tone. "Well, from what I could gather, the road is used by a moonshine business to transport their product. They're hoping this block will lead to the runner's arrest."
Dutch turned the information over in his mind as he tried to formulate a plan. One glance at the ground surrounding the road told him that turning the wagons off the road to go around the checkpoint would be risky. The soft, muddy ground would easily trap the wagons before they could go far. The road was too narrow for them to turn the wagons around without getting stuck in the aforementioned mud.
"Well, looks like the only way is forward. Lenny, tell the others what's ahead and have them hide anything incriminating, especially those bonds. Make sure they remember the story Hosea told them and it should be smooth sailing."
Lenny nodded and began to turn his horse away to pass along the message only for Dutch to stop him.
"Oh, and Lenny? Send Bill out to relay this information to Hosea, Arthur, and Charles. Hopefully they have that wagon fixed and are not far behind."
The boy nodded and tossed a two fingered salute to his leader with a cheerful grin as he turned his horse’s head to relay the information down the wagon train.
Dutch watched as Lenny made his way to the first wagon before he turned his attention back to the road. It wasn’t long before the road-block came into view, and, just as Lenny had warned, government agents were swarming around every wagon.
Dutch couldn’t help but wish that Hosea was there, the older man was born with a silver tongue and had a talent for talking his way out of any situation. Unfortunately, just wishing for something has never gotten him anywhere, instead Dutch rolled his shoulders, sat up a little straighter, and pasted on an amiable smile as he pulled on the reins to slow the horses.
The nearest agent waited for the wagon train to come to a stop before he stepped closer to where Dutch was seated. The old outlaw set down the reins and turned to the agent.
“What can I do for you, son?”
The agent narrowed his eyes against the sun as he tilted his head up to get a better look at the driver of the wagon. The man seemed to deflate as he sighed, clearly Dutch wasn’t the one the agent was after. Shaking off his disappointment the man finally decided to answer the question he had been given.
“Moonshiners have been running their poison up and down these roads for the past decade. We were tipped off that they were making a run today, but our source may have been pulling our leg.” The man seemed surprised at his own honesty and added a hasty, “But you didn’t hear that from me.”
Dutch leaned down from his seat to clap his hand on the man’s shoulder with the best encouraging smile he could muster, “Don’t worry, son. The day is still young, perhaps you’ll catch that scoundrel yet.” He cringed internally, perhaps he should town down the acting.
No sooner had the words left his lips that a loud crack erupted from the woods. Dutch reared back as the agent’s blood sprayed against his face. He heard a few of the girls scream in shock as the man collapsed.
More gunshots followed the first, though it was soon apparent that the targets of the assault were the Revenue Agents. The old outlaw turned and called out sharply
“Lenny, Micah!”
Dutch flinched when a bullet raced by him, a bit too close for comfort, only for the bullet to hit a revenue agent attempting to hide behind his wagon. Thankfully it wasn’t long before Lenny appeared beside Dutch.
“Find whoever is shooting, now!”
Lenny nodded and spurred his small mare towards where the bullets seemed to be originating from, but just as soon as the shooting started it ended, leaving every agent dead. Dutch noticed Lenny stop his mare and turn to Dutch, silently asking if the older man wanted him to continue his search for the shooter.
Dutch nodded before flicking the reins to get the train moving again, though much faster than before, hoping to find a safe place to rest and ensure no one was injured during the sudden firefight.
As Dutch rushed the group to safety, Lenny and Micah searched the woods in an attempt to locate the shooter.
Half an hour in, both men were about to give up the search when a loud scream echoed through the trees.
Without thinking, Lenny drew his rifle and spurred his mare towards the scream.
It wasn’t long before he heard the sounds of a struggle and the chilling sound of a mountain lion’s snarl. His mare burst into the clearing only to find a woman, flat on her back holding her rifle horizontal to keep the large mountain lion from ripping out her throat.
Before the lion could realize Lenny was there, the young man fired his rifle, putting it down quickly and as painlessly as he could.
Only when the lion lay motionless did Lenny run over to the woman who was struggling to get to her feet. He sucked in a shocked breath when he was close enough to see the large gashes that shredded her back.
The woman attempted to use her rifle as a support to get to her feet before Lenny shook himself and reached out to help her to her feet. The woman flinched and tried to pull her arm from his grip only to cry out in pain and lean against the young man, panting and wincing.
“Careful, miss. Looks like that cat got you good. Listen, I have friends that can help you, they aren’t too far from here.”
The woman shook her head and raised a shaky hand to her lips, letting out a piercing whistle, startling Lenny. Almost immediately, a whinny answered the sharp whistle and a large stallion broke through the bushes and came to a top a few feet away, pawing at the ground and tossing his head, seemingly disturbed at the strong scent of blood that hung in the clearing.
The woman looked up at Lenny and nodded her head toward the horse, “Think you can help me into the saddle?”
Lenny hesitated, “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me to get help? Those wounds look bad.”
The woman shook her head with a pained smile, “I’m certain.”
The young man sighed and helped her hobble towards her horse. The woman placed one hand on the saddle horn and the other on the horse’s mane as Lenny placed his hands on the woman’s hips to help her on the horse, trying to cause her as little pain as possible, though a whimper escaped her lips as she situated herself on the saddle.
She nodded her head in thanks and turned her horse and spurred the large beast into a gallop, leaving Lenny confused and concerned in her wake.
Of course it was only then that Micah decided to show up, he looked down at the dead mountain lion and scoffed, “If you’re done playing around we gotta catch up to Dutch and the others.”
It took every ounce of Lenny’s self control to avoid tearing into Micah about he was the one “playing around” while Lenny could have been in trouble.
He shook his head and pulled himself into the saddle, tossing a muttered, “Shut up, Micah,” over his shoulder as he turned his horse to where Dutch and the rest of the Van der Lind gang was waiting for them.
As Lenny and Micah rode silently, the young man mulled over the strange woman and her scratched up rifle that she used to hold the mountain lion at bay. Realization hit Lenny like a bolt of lightning.
It was so obvious, he nearly slapped his forehead in frustration. The rifle in the woman’s hands:
It was a sniper’s rifle