Ch. 3: Inside Information




"I know a girl at the bank." Cole had said to the gang. But what they didn't know, was just how well he knew Sandy. They thought he was just another guy who couldn't hold a relationship like a water bucket full of holes, and screwed fellas in Tulsa. He knew they had just been joking with that little comment, but it had still hurt his ego (which is why he shut the hell up about Zee).


The heat reminded Cole of the day he was nearly hanged. He wiped at his forehead, placed his hat back atop his head, and walked up the two stairs that led to the bank. Cole had no doubts that Sandy would help them, but he was afraid anyway. Afraid that she might turn away from him when the reality of who he really was came back and hit her in the ass. He'd killed two Pinkerton Dectives. Sure it was in retaliation for hitting Jimmy, but the cruel facts were there; he'd killed in cold blood. Hell, he'd killed in cold blood so many times he couldn't count. But of course, they never said it was cold blood when you were fighting in a war. How wrong they were.


Cole opened the door and walked into Liberty's bank. No one had even looked up. This job would be easy.


He casually walked in line behind this old guy that Sandy was trying to calm down. He smirked, watching her try to keep her anger down with the retched old man.


"Please Mr. Tucker!" Sandy pleaded, exhasperated. "I'm sorry, but you have no more money in the bank. We could give you a loan . . ."


"I don't want no dag gone flippin loan! I don't need one, ya here? Now I'm tellin ya, my money's here, cuz as a matter o' fact, I just put it in last week." he ended proudly.


"Yes, you're right Mr. Tucker. But the next day you took it back out!"



She was getting a little red in the face, and he found it adorable. But he thought he should step in, and save her from this torture.


"Excuse me, sir?" he cut in, wrapping his arm around the old man's shoulders and leading him away from Sandy.


"What do you want?" he snapped.



Sandy watched as Cole quietly conversed with Old Man Tucker, thinking it impossible when Tucker quietly and contentedly walked away.


Cole turned back towards her, and she watched him in awe as he walked towards her with a smug look smeared across his face.


"How'd you do that?" she asked


"Just a little trick I picked up during the war." he replied. Cole saw the look of confusion on her face, and he definitely didn't want to explain. It brought up too many bad memories. So he changed the subject before she could ask. "Sandy, listen." he began, leaning closer to her so that they wouldn't be overheard. "I need you to give me a list of all the banks the railroad is keeping their money in. Can you do that for me?"


Sandy's eyebrows furrowed with confusion, but she decided not to inquire his reasons; especially in public. But she knew whatever he was up to, it couldn't be good.


"S . .Sure." she replied unsteadily, hating that she let her fear get the best of her.


Cole placed his hand ontop of Sandy's reassuringly, and then slipped it back off before anyone noticed. He couldn't stand the thought of her hanged if she was connected with what him and the gang were about to do.


Sandy smiled sweetly at him behind the desk, and then bent down to retrieve a piece of paper and a pencil. She looked around nervously as she wrote, hoping no one would notice what she was up to.


When she was done, Sandy slipped him the paper. Cole whispered "Thanx." as he shoved it into his pocket. He hesitated for an instant, wanting to kiss her goodbye, not knowing if he'd ever see her again. But he forced himself to turn his back and walk confidentally out the bank doors.