Chapter 3- El Espia

"Despertate!" a voice cried, repeatedly, as a hand shook him roughly by the shoulder.

Jack really had no choice but to awaken and attempt to remember why he would have been in an unfamiliar shack with someone shouting commands in Spanish to him. Thankfully, it didn't take long for him to recall the former situation.

Because of this, he glanced at the place where he had been shot, finding it to have been clearly tended to already, bound as it was by gauze and bandages.

"Ven comigo, ahora," the same voice commanded once more, Jack glancing over to see that it was another male rebel holding a rifle. "Pronto, gringo, rapido!"

He gathered rather quickly by the man's frantic tone and insistent pressing of the barrel of his rifle into his shoulder that he wanted Jack to get up and accompany him to an undisclosed location. Jack was, naturally, more than a bit reluctant to do this, but he was not exactly in a position to argue, being both unarmed and otherwise incapacitated.

He therefore complied, following the man out of the shack and back towards inner Nosalida, which was now more or less at peace if not undeniably charred. It also didn't take Jack very long to see that the Federales had most certainly not won-out in this exchange. Rebels walked freely among the wreckage and scattered Federales corpses. Jack tried not to look at them as he continued to follow the man, knowing that doing so would neither render them not-dead nor rid him of his guilt.

Finally, the man brought him to another shack in the heart of the small settlement and pushed him inside. Awaiting him within was the leader, the same, strange man from before that had remorselessly shot him in the arm.

"Vayase," the leader said to the other rebel calmly, watching him as he left and closed the door to the shack behind him.

"What do you want with me?" Jack asked instantly, staring him down.

The man simply turned his back and proceeded to remove his sombrero, then his bandanna, and then let his long black hair down to fall to his shoulders. When he turned back to face him, however, Jack realized that this was not a man at all, but a definite young woman.

"I beg your pardon," she said, her voice now in what he presumed to be its normal state. "It's rather uncomfortable to stay dressed like that. It is a necessity, however, when there are strangers or soldiers about."

"My question still stands," Jack reiterated, trying not to seem too surprised by her sudden transformation. "What do you want with me?"

The young woman smirked slightly.

"To begin with, I'd like to know what you're scheming with Reyes. We're not idiots, after all. It's not very hard to spot a dumb gringo like yourself going back and forth between your country and ours, paying Reyes visits and then showing up at our hideout with Federales wanting to talk. Tell me, does subtlety really mean nothing to you Americans?"

"I wouldn't exactly call shooting me in the arm the epitome of that either, Senora," Jack retaliated. "Or your terrible disguise."

"It was enough to fool you, wasn't it?" she grinned. "Now tell me what business you have with Reyes or I'll shoot you in a place that can't be mended."

As if to emphasize her point, she clutched onto her holster that hung at her hip.

"Look, I'm not on his side or anything. He has something I need, so I'm doing his dirty work, just until I can get it. Yeah, he wanted me to lead a charge into here and kill all of you, but I was hoping you all might be willing to talk. I didn't want to kill anybody, honest to god."

"We don't talk anymore," she said tersely. "Especially not with Reyes. Even if he were to take the time to listen, it still would make no difference. The time to talk and reason is over. Now we must fight."

Jack shrugged. "Well, I guess you would know better. Far be it from me to judge."

"You will be judging no one ever again, gringo, because I do not think I will let you survive this encounter. It would be foolish to let a conspirator simply walk away."

She then pulled the pistol from her holster and pointed it squarely at his head.

"Now hold on one damn minute!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm no conspirator, lady, I'm just doing what I have to to save my family's farm! This ain't about your country's politics!"

"It is when you get involved with Reyes and harm my people!" she cried out.

"I had no other choice! The only way the governor of my state was gonna spare my ranch is if I got this fortune Reyes is sitting on. He was apparently an acquaintance of my father's back in the day, so I'm just cashing that in to see if it can't give me some leverage. Don't lump me together with this Federales business."

The young woman stilled and lowered her pistol slowly.

"Your father? Who is your father and why does he know Reyes?"

"My father's name was John Marston," Jack answered with a sigh. "And there's no way in hell I would know what he had to do with Reyes. He never told me a blessed thing about that stuff."

The young woman gasped softly and quickly replaced her weapon.

"You are John Marston's son?" she asked rhetorically. "Then, Senor, I cannot in good conscience kill you. John Marston saved my life four years ago. I am forever indebted to him."

"Saved you?" Jack repeated. "How, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Your father was a friend of my sister's, and by extension, Reyes, four years ago. He saved her, and then he saved me by transporting me safely to the docks to be taken to the Yucatan to work away from the revolution. He did not have to help my family, and yet he did. He was a good man and I know, despite my sister's death, that he did everything to protect her. Though I fear the answer, please tell me how he is."

Jack paused for a moment, feeling as though the delivery of the news should be significantly more delicate in this case than the others. This woman had clearly harbored a far more genuine and selfless affection for his father than any of his other supposed friends.

"He passed away not long after you met him," he explained gently. "Our government shot him down."

The young woman just stared at Jack for a moment before sniffing rather audibly and staring directly up at the small lamp hanging from the ceiling as if to help dry away the incoming tears.

"I am sorry for your loss, Mr. Marston. I know what it is like to have a father killed by one's government."

Her voice had become rather harsh and wavering, Jack noticed, and he couldn't help but soften a bit towards her and lose whatever spite he had for the shot in the arm or his decided kidnapping.

"It's just Jack," he said softly.

She nodded towards him, smiling understandingly.

"Miranda Fortuna. Despite everything, I am pleased to meet you, Jack Marston."

They were then quiet for a moment as they allowed the rather rapid realizations of each other to sink in. Miranda eventually sighed and walked around the desk she had been leaning on, apparently to load another pistol.

"Considering your circumstances, perhaps you have a better understanding for our motivations as rebeldes than I would have thought. Many of us have lost our loved ones to Reyes and his government."

"Well...I reckon I do in that case."

"Then I see no reason for you to not join us," she said, looking up at him. "In fact, I am rather confused as to why you did not approach us in the first place. You are far more likely to come across that fortune of yours with us after we have overthrown Reyes."

Jack gestured slightly with his head towards the wound in his upper arm.

"I'd think that'd be a good reason not to have come to you first thing. If you weren't such a terrible shot I'd at least be dead now and not completely unable to shoot anything."

Miranda laughed in her throat. "I assure you I had every intention of incapacitating you. I had to find out what deals you were making with Reyes before you were killed, after all, but thank Dios that we had this conversation. I would have never known you were John Marston's son otherwise. You really look nothing like him."

Jack inspected himself rather half-heartedly and fluffed his jacket a bit.

"Well, I had a mother too, you know. John didn't create me all on his own."

"Indeed," Miranda grinned. "In any case, welcome to the rebeldes, Jack. You are a fighter for Mexico now."

She then handed him the pistol she had been working on and he eyed it suspiciously.

"You promise me we'll get that fortune soon?" he asked, hesitant. "I'm not gonna join your gang and then have to wait a whole year before we get Reyes overthrown, am I?"

"A gang, Jack, is only as strong as it's members. If you want our revolution to be successful, and rapid, you have to do your part."

Jack placed the new pistol in his holster and exhaled loudly.

"I'll do what I can, but with this bum arm I'm not sure I'm gonna be much help."

"It will heal soon enough," Miranda promised, ushering him out the door. "In the meantime, however, we need you to keep fraternizing with Reyes. You will be our spy, in a manner of speaking. I do not think that will require you to have to shoot many things, but I will send my brother, Emilio, along with you just in case that is required."

Jack looked up as they stepped outside to see another fairly young rebel man approach him on a horse, glaring at him fixedly.

"Emilio will make sure you do not stray from us," Miranda continued. "But he will do so from a safe distance. He is rather stealthy, I assure you."

"I don't think I need a chaperone," Jack said defiantly, but quietly so that Emilio hopefully wouldn't be able to hear. "You can trust me."

Miranda laughed once more, throwing her head back.

"I've been around long enough to know that I should never believe those words from a man. I will trust you when you have proven yourself to me."

Jack shrugged, deciding that it was a fairly valid point.

"Fair enough."

He was then brought a steed who appeared to be rather underfed and possibly sick, though none of the other horses he could see were in a much better state. As he mounted, he made a mental note to go look for Ol' Boy later on when the opportunity presented itself and he hoped against hope that maybe he had just fled back to the ranch- and gotten there safely.

"Come back as soon as you have gathered more information," Miranda instructed.

Jack just nodded obediently.

"Sure thing, Miss Fortuna. Thanks for the pistol, in any case."

She nodded back and smiled briefly before he nudged the old steed in the side and set off with Emilio back towards Escalera.


His arrival back was not nearly as warmly met as it had been previously. There were pistols and federales surrounding him almost as soon as he was spotted nearing the presidential villa, and he was quickly pulled off of his horse and brought, with tied wrists, to Reyes' inner-sanctum. As he was escorted there, he couldn't help but look over his shoulder to see what had become of Emilio.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was gone- or, at least, scarce at the current moment. That was probably for the better of both of them.

"What have you done, Marston?" Reyes demanded to know the moment Jack was being thrown on his knees in the villa's lobby. "You call that massacre a victory for us, do you? I ask you to do one simple thing- clear out Nosalida. But no, you are as incompetent as any of my men! It is a wonder a man such as John fathered such an incapable louse."

"If it's so goddamned easy why don't you do it yourself?" Jack challenged, wrestling against his restraints. "Go ahead, Reyes, lead a charge of your own down there and see if you can't clear those rebels out. I'd love to see how well you fare."

"Don't talk back to me!" Reyes cried, kicking Jack squarely in the stomach, causing him to recoil. "I am the president! I can have you shot!"

"Go ahead then, shoot the ever-lovin' shit out of me," Jack hissed through his teeth, cringing against the pain. "And then you'll lose the only spy you've managed to place in with the rebels."

Reyes stilled, looking at Jack confusedly.

"Spy?"

"You heard me right. I carved in a nice little niche with them."

Reyes scoffed, disbelievingly. "You're not fooling me. Miranda Fortuna would not just allow in some pinche gringo like you."

"She would if my father had saved her- which he did," Jack pointed out. "Check my pistol, if you don't believe me. It's one of hers."

This Reyes did rather quickly, fervently glancing over every inch of the weapon. When he had apparently determined Jack's claim to be correct, he just laughed insincerely and placed it rather haphazardly on the nearest surface.

"Well then," he mused. "You do seem to have wormed your way into Miranda Fortuna's favor. I suppose that should not surprise me. Being an attractive young man has it's advantages, until you get old and all you are left with is your lack of wits. In any case, you must realize this only makes you more suspicious. How can I trust you to be loyal to our government?"

Jack shrugged as best he could, considering his wound and restricted wrists.

"Beats the hell out of me."

"Then give me one reason why I should not shoot you on the spot."

"I haven't got one, Senor, other than pointing out, once again, that doing so would only be ridding you of your only spy- someone who could be of a great use to you, not to mention the fact you and my father still owe debts to each other. But hell, I'm the one tied and kneeling like a cheap whore on your floor. It's not like I'm going to do a whole helluvalot to stop you, either way."

Some of the men chuckled at this, and Reyes shot them all disapproving stares.

"You should count yourself lucky to have had a father such as him," he said simply, gesturing for Jack to be cut loose. "Otherwise, I'm sure that attitude of yours would have gotten you killed by now."

Jack just grit his teeth and rubbed his wrists from where they had been chafed from the rope, trying to keep one of his fists from launching into Reyes' face now that they were free.

"I want you to move these rebels outside of Nosalida. I do not care how you do it, I just want them to be scattered and unprepared. When they have relocated, we will strike and take them out."

Jack said nothing, tempted to argue but certain that it was wiser not to.

"I do not plan to give you much time to prove yourself to me," Reyes mentioned, his back turned to Jack completely. "So be sure you make the most of what you have, unlike that completely shameful first attempt at Nosalida. Let us hope you are better at espionage than battle, Senor Marston."


Jack arrived back at Nosalida well into nightfall, followed once again by Emilio who had miraculously reappeared from who-knows-where. He found he wasn't very comfortable with that sort of stealthiness, particularly with someone who did not appear to like him much at all.

Nosalida seemed to have been more or less cleaned out from the invasion, from what Jack could see in the dark. The bodies were gone -in a pile to be burned later, he would eventually find out- and the rubble had been moved and swept to the side to allow for easy passage among the wrecked buildings. Currently, it appeared as if the rebels were partaking in a community supper around a rather large fire, over which hung a pendulous cauldron. Whatever was cooking within smelled fairly appetizing and Jack was reminded of the fact that he had not eaten in a good while. He wondered if he was considered enough of a member of their outfit to be invited to eat.

It was at that moment, however, that Miranda Fortuna reappeared, rushing towards the two of them as they proceeded to dismount.

"What did you discover?" she asked, pressingly. "Anything important?"

"As a matter of fact, yes- something very important and of great interest to you, I'm sure."

"Well?" she continued, impatient. "What is it?"

Jack sighed and began to lead his horse over to the closest hitching post, pursued rather closely by Miranda who was growing more frustrated the longer he strung her out.

"For that information, mam, I'm going to require some reimbursement in the form of whatever is brewing over that fire."

Miranda glanced over in the direction of the cauldron, seemingly taken back by his benign request.

"Oh...oh! You want to eat?" She chuckled a bit, perhaps at the realization that he had been purposefully antagonizing her. "Of course, of course, come with me."

She seized his upper arm -thankfully not the one she had shot- and brought him over to the communal fire where she proceeded to ask one of her contemporaries for a bit of the food- or so Jack assumed, as he was soon handed a bowl -and spoon- of whatever had been cooking. She then grabbed him again, bringing him back to the shack where had she revealed her identity earlier in the day. He was beginning to get the impression that this was her central office, as it were.

He made himself comfortable with his bowl of soup across from her at the lone table in the room, happily digging in as she proceeded to question him once more.

"Please, Mr. Marston, tell me what the Federales are planning."

"You're not gonna like it," he warned. "Reyes wants me to somehow lead all of you out of Nosalida so that he can send a unit to attack you while you're unawares. Why he thinks I would have the power to do such a thing, I have no earthly clue..."

Miranda was silent a moment as she considered this.

"I had a very strong feeling he might try something like this next," she admitted, look pensive and conflicted. "I've been thinking over how we might overcome it, were he ever to do so. I must say, he's a rather predictable man."

"That's fortunate for you," Jack mentioned in between spoonfuls.

"Yes," she conceded with a nod. "But he is not easy to defeat. However, I think if we plan this just so and with much precision we may have a good chance of overtaking him."

"Might I point out that you all did a pretty good job of overtaking him today, at least that's what it looked like from where I was standing."

"That was pure luck," she dismissed. "And we suffered quite a hit. We shall have to go on more than just good fortune if we're going to overtake his men and his fortress in one day."

"You plan to overtake the invasion forces and Escalera at one time?" Jack asked, incredulous. "You sure you're prepared for all that?"

Miranda smiled at him, a twinge of unmistakable impatience in her expression.

"Was it not you, Mr. Marston, who was eager for us to overtake Reyes' government as soon as possible?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't think it's a good idea to just rush into-"

"You'll forgive me, Senor," she cut in, her voice deceivingly calm. "If after your attempt to bring peace today I have significantly more faith in my abilities as a strategist than yours."

Jack could only chuckle a bit and put his hands up in a symbol of mock defeat. He was admittedly taken back by how evidently talented she was in defending her position- and putting him in his place.

"We are revolutionaries, Mr. Marston," she continued. "We are always prepared to overthrow Reyes' government."

"That's all well and good," he said, finishing his soup and scooting the bowl away from him a bit. "But if this thing doesn't pan out, I doubt I'm going to be welcomed into Escalera ever again- and there goes your inside man, Miss Fortuna."

"I don't have a choice, Mr. Marston, and neither do you. Victory is our only option."

Jack exhaled loudly, rubbing his eyes from a mixture of exhaustion and frustration.

"I just really don't think I have the right rebel attitude, if I'm honest. All I wanna do is get my fortune and get gone."

Miranda huffed and stood from her chair rather abruptly.

"I assure you this is about something much bigger than your farm, and if you cannot trouble yourself to have some sympathy for that, than I'm not sure I will be willing to help you any longer."

Jack did not consider himself an intuitive or personable man, but even he could tell that he had clearly offended her. It truly hadn't been his intent. Other than wanting to be honest and vent his feelings on the matter, he hadn't much intent to the statement at all. He regretted having say it to begin with, which was odd since he normally didn't care if he said or did something to rub someone the wrong way. Perhaps that was because those offenses were usually a matter of propriety and pompousness, something he could not possibly care less about. This, on the other hand, was a personal matter of honor on Miranda's behalf.

"I ain't trying to disrespect your cause, mam, honest to god," he promised, also rising from his chair and slowly pursuing her to where she had stormed off to stare out a dirtied window and keep her back to him. "I'm just feeling a little tired with everything, is all."

"You lost your father to your government," Miranda said. "As did I, as did many of these of people you see out here armed and prepared to fight. I let you join us only because I believed you would understand and sympathize with our cause."

"And I do!" he insisted. "I swear to it. I think it's down-right honorable what you're all doin' here, and if I can be of a real help to win this war, then I'll gladly do it. But I gotta look out for myself, too, Miss Fortuna, and I think we'd both be better off not forgetting what I came here for in the first place."

She turned to face him then, eyes fixated on him in a way that reminded him of the stare his mother would give when she knew he had done wrong and wanted him to admit it. Her tactic never failed, and he suspected Miranda's wouldn't either, piercing as her gaze was.

"I find myself in need of you, Mr. Marston, as you find yourself in need of me. I do not know if I can trust you as I did your father, but I do not have a choice. I can threaten you forever with a pistol, but in the end we both know I must rely on your honor as a man. For now, I want you to promise your allegiance to us from here until the end, and I want you to look me in the eyes as you do this."

Why he suddenly felt so inexplicably intimidated and nervous, like a sinner in church being inadvertently scolded by the pastor for his sins, he did not know. There was an indefinable quality to the woman before him that made him legitimately frightened to lie to or oppose her and perhaps, he thought, that is how she launched herself to a position of leadership as a female at such a young age.

So he did as she requested, looking her square in her sharp black eyes and telling her as sincerely as he possibly could,

"I promise."

This seemed satisfactory for her, as the formidable skepticism in her expression seemed to instantly fade into a soft, calm satiation.

"Very well. I will expect you back here at dawn to discuss the plans more in-depth. For the moment, ask anyone for 'un luga para dormir', and they will direct you to a place to sleep, if you wish it. You may leave."

Jack nodded, readying himself to leave, but pausing a moment by the door to turn and try to extend some friendly courteousness towards her.

"Uhm...you have a good night then, Miss Fortuna."

She continued to stare out the window at the sight of Nosalida, refusing to look back at him.

"Good night," she said simply and without much emotion.

He just scoffed and shook his head as he left, frustrated that there was some part of him that, for whatever reason, wanted to get past her evident wall and endear himself to her.