The camp is oddly silent. Here there's always calmness, but not like this. Maybe what happened to Kieran affected everybody.
After my coffee, Arthur gets close to me and asks if I'm ready to go.
"Sorry, to go where exactly?" I ask confused.
"To Citadel Rock. We have to meet the great chief's son" he answers looking at me like I'm and idiot.
I hit the palm of my hand on my forehead to make him understand I forgot about it. We prepare the horses and leave.
To go back to New Hannover we need to ride for hours. We stop only once, near the Scarlett Meadows, to eat something and stretch our legs.
Finally, we pass the border and reach the 'Cornwall Kerosene & Tar'. Thick clouds are gathering above our heads and they start to hide the afternoon sun. Soon it will rain.
Eagle Flies is on a ridge that overlooks the valley. It's a really good spot to watch the entire oil factory and check the movements of the workers.
We get to him and dismount the horses.
"You came" says the boy putting down the binoculars and turning to look at us.
"Of course we came, we said we would" replies Arthur.
"There's a foreman, his name is Danbury. He has the files in the office above the refinery room" says Eagle Flies standing up and handing the binoculars to Arthur.
He surely doesn't want to waste time.
"It's that window with the blind drawn up, you see it?" he asks when Arthur brings the binoculars to his eyes.
"Yeah" he answers.
"If the files are as incriminating as we believe, Mr. Cornwall's men will destroy them if they know you're coming" explains the boy.
"There's only one of me, son. I don't intend for them to know I'm coming" replies Arthur.
"What? And what should I be doing? Stay here and watch you?" I exclaim.
A thunder rumbles above our heads and I feel some water drops on my face.
"If I go alone there are more chances for me not to be seen" says Arthur.
"The same is for me. Why can't I go?" I reply.
"And what if Danbury is in his office? What if you have to convince him to give you the documents?" he asks.
I think a little about his words.
He's right. He has more experience with this kind of things and if it should get bad, he surely has more chances than me to get out of there.
"What will the files say?" Arthur asks to Eagle Flies.
"There's a report from Leland Oil Development Company" he replies.
"And you got the money?"
"Yes."
"Any idea how I sneak into this place?"
The rain starts.
"You could crawl under the fence or hide in a wagon. They keep rolling in" answers Eagle Flies.
"I'll go take a look" says Arthur walking away.
"If there's a problem, call for me" replies the boy.
"I thought the whole point was that this had nothing to do with you?" asks Arthur as he keeps walking.
"Ideally…"
I sigh and watch him going away.
The water drops fall on my face, on my hair, on my shoulders… In no time I'll be soaked.
I sit on the edge of the ridge watching Arthur sneaking inside one of the wagons that go in and out from the factory. Eagle Flies sits next to me checking his movements with the binoculars.
Finally, the wagon goes inside the factory yard and disappears.
"Maybe I should create a diversive, just in case things get bad" says Eagle Flies standing up again.
I do the same, with some difficulty due to my wet clothes.
"You have any idea?" I ask him.
He watches the factory in the distance.
"What do you think about the tower?" he asks.
"Okay, let's go" I say heading to the horses.
"Don't you think it's better if you stay here?"
"Don't try that" I cut short, climbing on Isabella and leading the way.
The heavy rain and the twilight allow us to get close without being seen. We sneak in from the railway, get down the horses and enter the yard. It's full of shacks and this makes it easier to hide from those employees who still dare to wander outside with this weather.
"We need something to start the explosion" says Eagle Flies looking at the tower in front of us.
"Dynamite" I think out loud.
"You know where to find it?" he asks.
I look around and then head to one of the little shacks. There's no-one inside, the lights are off and the door closed. I just need to hit it with my shoulder to bust it open. I start looking inside the boxes and cupboards, but I don't find what I need.
I go out again, ready to go inside another shack when Eagle Flies comes to me.
"This will be enough, right?" he asks handing me some explosives.
"Where did you find it?" I ask.
"There" he answers pointing at his back.
Without making further questions, I head to the tower. I walk low hoping that the rain and the darkness will cover us. Then, I put the dynamite next to one of the tower pillars. Eagle Flies does the same, taking a little match box from his pocket.
We try to light some, but after a little we have to give up.
"The rain it's too hard!" he says impatiently.
"Oh, you don't say!" I reply.
He looks around shaking his head.
"I got an idea, follow me" I say grabbing his arm and pulling him away.
When we're at a safe distance, I take out my gun.
"This way they'll hear us" he remarks.
"Because a tower that blows up is silent, right?" I reply sarcastic.
Then, I pull the trigger.
The noise of the shot is covered by the roar of the explosion. High flames develop from the bottom of the tower and spread the yard with a red light.
We have just the time to make a few steps back when another explosion happens. The oil under the tower must have been reached by the fire.
Several men start coming out of the shacks and the central building.
I raise my gun and start shooting at them. Next to me, Eagle Flies takes his bow and shoots his arrows.
Among the figures that run from left to right, I see one with a cowboy hat who's shooting against the other men.
"Arthur! This way!" I yell in his direction while the fire keeps burning and the guards are more and more numerous.
"We have to get away from here" he tells us as soon as he gets close.
We run back to the horses. Eagle Flies mounts on his horse, Arthur and I mount on Isabella and we start running.
We stop next to the ridge so that Arthur can take his horse and then we run and run without looking back.
When the 'Cornwall Kerosene & Tar' is finally distant and the fire is a little red spot in the dark fields, we stop.
"That explosion came just in time" pants Arthur.
"You have to thank Eagle Flies. It was his idea" I reply smiling to the boy.
"You helped me. And then, I was happy to see some of that oil burn. So, you met Mr. Danbury?" then he asks to Arthur.
"Yes, don't worry, he was very obliging. I thought you wasn't getting involved?"
"I thought you were gonna enter and leave silently?" replies Eagle Flies.
"Thank you. You saved my life" says Arthur handing him the documents.
"Thank you. Both" adds the boy nodding to me.
"I hope…well, I don't know what I hope. But who knows, maybe these will be of some use. Here's your money" he adds taking the money from the saddle and handing it to Arthur.
"Thank you" he says.
"Who knows, maybe we'll meet again" I say waving a hand to Eagle Flies as he goes away.
"Maybe" he replies doing the same.
I watch his back as he rides away.
Then, Arthur coughs making me turn to him. He's handing me part of the money.
"You know I don't want it. I did it because…" I say.
"Yeah, I know why you did it. I'll put it in the box for you" he says putting the money inside his sack.
"See? You're starting to know me. You know where we could camp?" I ask looking at the fields around me.
"Away from here. Jesus… I can smell the burning oil from here" he replies.
We head South, away from the factory and from the New Hannover.
When we find a good place to camp, the rain has already stopped and we can light a fire, take the blankets and dry ourselves a little.
"So… what do you think about Eagle Flies?" asks Arthur after a little time.
"Maybe a little impulsive, but he seems a good boy" I answer.
"Be careful, Miss, or Charles could get jealous" he replies chuckling.
I laugh in turn. I don't even try to deny what everybody seems to have understood.
"He doesn't look like the jealous type" I say.
"With him you can never tell. After so many months, that man is still a mystery even for me."
Hello everybody and Happy Easter!
I hope everything is going fine in this quarantine for you all. Talking about the chapter: I know there are a lot of people who like Eagle Flies and I would like him too, if it wasn't for that stupid obsession of the war and that angry attitude. But my protagonist decided she likes him and she wanted to help him sooo...
I'm sorry this chapter is a little short, but after what happened in the last one I thought a little lightness was due.
Hope you liked it and (as always) see you soon!