CHAPTER IX
CUMBERLAND FOREST, NEW HANOVER, JUNE 7TH 1900
As Vic and Sawyer relieved the remaining corpses of their belongings, Ellie crouched in front of the dying campfire, loading it with more wood to keep it going.
The two men found handfuls of ammo for their guns, which they had taken back from one of the burlap sacks stored in the carriage. Vic felt more at ease now that he had both LeMat's back in their holsters. The deputy had thrown Ellie the Volcanic Pistol, wanting her to have something other than the bow. Sawyer also took a few minutes to load his Schofield and Shotgun.
In the pockets of one marauder, the Deputy found half a pack of cigarettes, to his delight.
"Much obliged, friend." Vic smirked to the dead man.
Sawyer finished loading his revolver and span the cylinder, hearing the satisfying clicks, before finally holstering it.
Vic had kept rubbing his neck and throat ever since the young hunter had cut him loose, Payne's grip on his windpipe having left a big, sore, red mark.
Ellie looked over, "Any shiny stuff they got is mine!"
Sawyer laughed a little, "So that's the one pal you got in the world, huh?"
Vic, still raiding the pockets of the dead men, shrugged his shoulders in some sort of admission.
"Well give the gal her due, she did save our skins." Sawyer reminded the Deputy before picking up one of the dead men's satchels.
Ellie managed to get the fire going really well. Its flames towered over her as she squatted a few yards away. As she waited for Vic and the outlaw to finish their looting, she sat on the big log and started to whittle away with her knife at some of the small sticks and branches she'd collected, making her own arrows.
Vic managed to build up a wad of cash from all the corpses. It was too dark to really tell how much was there and how long it could last, so instead he pocketed it all, deciding to count it later.
Sawyer took a pretty strong lasso from the last body he searched. It was long and so much sturdier than most others, like it had been reinforced. He assumed it was to help keep captives from wiggling outer the knots, like he himself had often done in the past.
Vic finally sparked a fresh cigarette, taking the most satisfying drag that he could remember. For a moment he felt like it soothed the pain in his neck and throat. It had been hours since his last one and he had been through some hard shit in the meantime. So the cigarettes, to him, were a well deserved luxury.
"Want me to cook up some food, Vic?!" Ellie asked from across the dimly lit patch.
Vic exhaled the smoke and frowned, "You got food to cook?!"
"Well I been out hunting the last few days!" Ellie said, reaching into her satchel, "I managed to catch a squirrel!"
The youthful hunter brandished what Vic assumed was the small carcass of a squirrel, like it was a toy. Sawyer noticed this too but decided to keep quiet. The outlaw was grateful for what the young girl had done for him and the deputy, but Vic and her seemed to have a real special kind of relationship. One that Sawyer, respectfully, felt he didn't yet have the right to interfere with.
"You got anything else!?" Vic asked, "Like a can of beans or someth'n!?"
Ellie stopped waving the dead squirrel around and looked confused, "Not really, why!?"
"Well a squirrel ain't gonna feed us all, Ellie!" Vic yelled out.
Ellie wondered to herself and then raked through her bag again for a few moments. Vic and Sawyer finally finished their searching of the bodies and walked back over to the campfire. Vic sat on the log next to Ellie, still smoking his cigarette, while Sawyer sat on the ground next to the fire a few feet away.
Ellie finally pulled out a little box, "Uh... I got these biscuits?"
The two men glanced at one another and then back to the girl that, just a half hour earlier, had saved them from a couple of grim fates.
Vic then accepted the options, "A'ight... That'll have to do then."
Soon, Ellie had skinned the squirrel carcass and had it on one of her makeshift arrows, now acting as a cooking spit. She held it close to the fire and let it roast slowly, making sure the wooden stick didn't catch fire too. Vic and Sawyer sat quietly, thinking over the ordeal they had just been through. The two men hadn't known each other for even a full day yet and already they had shared an experience together that Vic hadn't even had with his fellow deputy's back home.
Vic had always worked alone in New Austin, feeling other folks would just slow him down, which he was right about. Once, about a year before, Vic and Quinn had ventured across the plains down to the edge of the Rio Bravo river, to wipe out a mob of the De Lobo gang. Those vicious raiders kept close to the river as a means to cross back over to Mexico if thing's got too heated. They'd been terrorizing the citizens for days, the news easily reaching Tumbleweed.
Vic and Quinn were sent out to the either chase them back across and scare them enough to make them stay there. Or just make sure they didn't see the next sunrise. They'd opted for the second choice. And while the De Lobo gang was killed fairly easily, Quinn had caught a bullet in the shin. Vic didn't catch even a punch, but he had to make sure Quinn was safe while covering his own ass. Since then, he'd always done the jobs alone.
Now Quinn was dead. Killed by the very same man who Vic had been throttled by not even an hour before. But unlike every other job, the deputy wasn't alone this time. Sawyer had made it a two man job, and now Ellie had appeared from nowhere and made it three. Any other time, Vic would've refused to have that many along, but after encountering Roland Payne for the first time, he knew any help at all was necessary.
"Hope this thing tastes good. Took me like twenty minutes to catch the fucker." Ellie said, watching the sizzling carcass roast against the fire.
Sawyer frowned with a grin, "Twenty minutes? Why didn't you just stomp on it? Would'a been faster."
"You think I didn't fucking try that? He was faster than some cougars I seen. Took two arrows to finally hit him."
"You've seen a cougar?" Vic then asked, grimacing.
Ellie looked at her older friend and nodded nonchalantly, as if coming across a cougar was something she'd done many a time and that Vic should've known.
"And it didn't see you?" He added.
The youthful hunter then shook her head just as casually, "Was sleepin'."
Vic just chuckled to himself, "A'ight then."
Ellie had already proven herself more than she needed to. She'd saved Sawyer from torture and Vic from certain death. But the more she revealed about her journey before that, the more surprised the men got. Sawyer thought she could've been lying, after all she was young. Vic though, believed every single word. He'd known her since she was a toddler. Ellie didn't have a filter, and spoke with more honesty than most people did. The deputy truly believed she had came across a cougar, an animal that could kill you with one bite, and happily accepted that she'd managed okay on her own.
"What else you been up to? Besides bird doggin' me?" Vic asked, still massaging his own neck.
Ellie looked up and her face twisted, "I just been hunting these last two days really. Found some funny lookin' cards. Heard I could sell 'em for a lot of cash if I manage to find them all."
"Cards?" The deputy asked.
"Yeah, they're treasures, Vic." She replied, a hint of excitement springing out.
Vic sighed but nonetheless smirked, "Not like any treasure I ever heard of, but then again, you'd know more than I would about that shit."
"Damn right." Ellie said with a smirk, "You're good at findin' people, I'm good at findin' treasures. I told you for a long time now that we should partner up."
"Don't get any ideas. My business here is still law business." Vic told her, firmly but friendly.
Ellie scoffed, "Yeah right, then why you here with this guy?"
The youngster pointed her finger at Sawyer who had just been resting his eyes and listening to his two companions' odd rapport. The outlaw looked at Vic, as if he was being accused by the girl.
Vic glared at Ellie, "Same business as me."
She glared right back, "Oh yeah? And is he the law too?"
Sawyer wasn't even a part of the conversation yet, despite being the subject. Even in the face of it, he could do nothing but silently laugh and smile. He'd seen some fiery women but Vic's young buddy was taking the cake.
Vic raised his hands and yielded, "You know what? Talk to him about it. Just hurry up with that damn squirrel, will ya?"
With that, Vic sparked another cigarette and Ellie shot him a cocky smile. One of the smiles he'd seen so many damn times that the deputy hated to love. While he sat next to Ellie on the log, smoking away, she looked over at the young outlaw.
"Your name's Sawyer, right?" Ellie asked, moving the squirrel away from the fire.
"That's me, miss." Sawyer said gently, "Much obliged for what you did back there."
Ellie giggled, "That was nothin'. I've hit deer with my bow from further than that. When they were running too."
Sawyer was impressed. So much so he turned to look at Vic again.
"It's true." Vic confirmed, dragging the ember.
Sawyer shrugged, "Well it don't matter. I still appreciated it. Without your arrows, I'd have a broken leg by now probably, along with my fucked ribs."
"What happened to your ribs?" Ellie asked, immediately becoming enthralled.
"Kicked to pieces by that piece of shit, was here earlier."
"Who?" She asked.
Vic and Sawyer both shot Ellie a look of wonder. Only then did it dawn on both men that she clearly wouldn't have seen Roland. If she had, their job would've probably been done for them. Vic knew for sure, if she saw Roland strangling him, Ellie would've filled him with arrows.
"You obviously got here late, then." Sawyer told her, "His name was Roland Payne. He's the bastard that Vic and me are trying to find."
"Kid?" Vic winced, his voice raised a little.
Sawyer looked at him straight, "Oh come the fuck on, deputy. If this is the closest thing you got to a buddy, what's the problem with her knowin'?"
Vic pointed at Ellie but kept his eyes on Sawyer, "She ain't getting involved in this."
"She's already involved." Sawyer remarked.
Vic then sharply stood up from the log and stepped closer to the young outlaw, who in turn began to stand up and face him back.
"Stop bein' assholes!" Ellie shouted with annoyance.
The men again looked back at the girl. She had her knife ready and was about to cut into the cooked squirrel and share out the small portions of meat. Vic had been ready to pummel his would-be partner and Sawyer was about ready to defend himself. The young outlaw hadn't meant to provoke the lawman in any way, but clearly he'd touched a nerve. Not even when they first met, and Vic looked at him as a target, did he seem to get as angry as that.
"Look, I apologise." Sawyer said quietly, hands up, "But she saved us. Saved you in particular. Gotta give her something in return, right?"
"She's not getting involved. Simple as that." Vic responded almost immediately, ignoring Sawyer's words.
"Can I speak for my own, please?" Asked the girl, annoyed at her older friend.
Vic turned, "Look I appreciate what you did an all, Ellie. But this shit's dangerous. I ain't putting you in it, a'ight?"
"Come on, I can fucking take care of myself. You've seen me!"
"What would your Ma think of me? Putting you at risk?"
"Oh fuck my Ma, she'll understand!"
"Okay, and what about your Pa?" Vic then whispered.
Ellie's face suddenly filled with a certain sadness. It wasn't that Vic had hurt her feelings, but that he had brought up a pretty sore subject. For once, she didn't have anything to say back. Instead she just handed Vic the skewered squirrel, her knife, then sat down quietly on the log to whittle her arrows again.
Vic hadn't meant to hurt her, and felt right away that by mentioning her father, maybe he had gone a little below the belt. The deputy looked at Sawyer who stood confused. Before long both men sat back down and Vic sliced the squirrel. He passed Ellie a hunk of the meat and then Sawyer too. The squirrel meat indeed tasted real good, but there was so little of it that it was gone a bit too quick for their liking. All three could've definitely eaten more.
Sawyer took a sip of water from his small flask before passing it to Vic, who took a decent swig himself. Everything had went silent in the camp. The only sounds around were the gentle rustling of the trees and the crackles of the fire. Ellie was still at a loss for words, Vic didn't know what to say to her and Sawyer didn't want to say anything at all. After hearing how Vic and Ellie had talked to one another, the young outlaw still felt it wasn't his place.
After thinking hard on what to say or do, Vic finally nudged Ellie and held out Sawyer's flask. She turned away, refusing it.
"You gotta drink, Ellie. Could die of thirst." Vic said, trying to stir her.
She then gave him a deep frown, "I ain't fucking stupid, Vic."
Vic smiled, "Never said you was. But take a drink. For me?"
Still Ellie frowned. And still Vic smiled.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me, huh?" Vic said gently and honestly.
Ellie's frown soon turned into a grin and she did as Vic asked. She took a satisfying gulp of water and then threw the flask back to Sawyer, before whittling another arrow.
Vic and Sawyer rested comfortably and then soon broke out the box of biscuits that Ellie had brought along. They were all the way from New Austin and tasted even better than the squirrel meat. All three of them soon finished the box and sat around with their spirits a little higher. Vic smoked, Sawyer rested and Ellie kept making her arrows and sharpening her knife.
Vic kept glancing over at her, watching her work. The arrows she was making looked real sharp and deadly, he could not deny her skills. The deputy knew damn well she could handle herself, that wasn't his worry. Vic had just never truly realised until that night how dangerous Roland Payne was. Thinking about him possibly getting his hands around Ellie's throat both worried and enraged the lawman. Surely he had to send her home, he thought. But lord knows that would be a verbal war, so he decided to leave it until morning.
Sawyer took the time to finally rest his body. It had been one of the longest and hardest days of his life. His time in Emerald Ranch already felt like a lifetime ago, after having come so far. Laying down on his back, looking up at whatever stars he could see past the trees, he daydreamt of being back there, with no bullshit to deal with. Being with Ted Crowley, helping the old fella out with the ranches, sounded like a good way to spend his time. But soon those dreams drifted towards something else. Soon he found himself daydreaming about how good it would feel to finally stand over the corpse of Roland Payne, knowing that he was no longer out there.
Time passed and soon enough it was only Sawyer and Vic that were still awake. Ellie had used her satchel as a pillow against the log and lain her head on it. Soon she was practically out cold, the day having taken it right out of her. Vic watched her attentively, still feeling bad about mentioning her father. Sawyer felt since she was asleep, maybe it was a good time to talk about what their next move was to be.
"What now?" Sawyer asked suddenly.
Vic looked away from Ellie and towards the outlaw, "Makes a change... You asking me what to do."
"Well I'm at a loss now, gotta admit." Sawyer stated, sitting back up, "I mean, that son of a bitch is still on those fucking plains, killing people right this minute probably. Now he may have been stupid enough to let you and me live, but that still don't push us any further towards him."
Vic sighed and nodded in agreement. The young outlaw was right. They'd been lucky that Roland hadn't just shot them dead when he'd had the chance. So lucky that they hadn't even taken the last couple of hours since he left to really think up a plan of action. They were just grateful to be alive. Grateful to Ellie.
"What about that thing he said? About the bank?" Sawyer reminded Vic.
Vic didn't even know what he meant. Around the time Roland took off, Vic had been on his back gasping for air and making sure his neck hadn't broke.
"He told one of the O'Driscoll's to help him break some bank." Sawyer finally said after letting Vic think for a minute, "Surely that mean's he's gonna break into some bank, right?"
Vic rubbed his neck again, "Well yeah, probably. What banks are in New Hanover then, kid? You know this area better than me or her."
Sawyer thought about it. There wasn't that many banks in any town nearby. Valentine had a small bank, but not big enough for Roland Payne to raid. And then again, he'd already been through Valentine, so if he was gonna rob that bank, he would've done it already. There wasn't a bank in Strawberry, plus there was no way in hell Roland would be heading back there, not after what had happened the week before. The young outlaw kept thinking, and then suddenly came to a rather obvious conclusion.
"Saint Denis." Said Sawyer, looking right at Vic.
"Saint who?" Vic asked.
"Saint Denis. It's a big city down south in Lemoyne. Probably a few day's ride from here." Sawyer said confidently, "It's the biggest bank in the area right now. It'll have the most money for sure. If that motherfucker's about to rob any bank, it'll be that one."
"You been there before?" Vic asked. They would need some experience, since the deputy had only heard of the place in stories.
Sawyer laughed to himself again, "Yeah, well. I grew up there."
Vic didn't expect to hear that. It dawned on him at that moment that he and Sawyer hadn't ever really spoken about their pasts to eachother. All they knew was that they were both on the hunt for revenge against the same man. Other than that, they were both still strangers.
"You grew up there?" Vic asked, almost saying it to himself, "Then what the fuck are you doing here? As an outlaw?"
Sawyer sighed, "Long story, I guess. I'll tell it to you one day, maybe. But until that time comes, if it even does... We'll probably need a bottle of whiskey."
Vic happily accepted what Sawyer had said and didn't feel like he ought to pry any further. If the kid didn't wanna say much else, then that was his choice. But that didn't stop Sawyer from asking some of his own questions.
"So what was all that?" Sawyer asked, nodding towards Ellie, "About her Pa?"
Vic looked at Ellie again, "He was a good friend of mine. Knew him all my life."
Sawyer could see bit of sadness now coming out of Vic too. A similar sadness to what Ellie displayed earlier when her Father had been mentioned.
"He got killed by a band of Comanches up in Cholla Springs, when she was only four years on this earth." Vic said solemnly, now looking into the fire, "Before he died, I promised that man that I would look out for her, as much as I could."
Sawyer listened and saw the sorrow in the deputy's eyes as he told the story. The young outlaw was surprised that Vic would even tell him this so soon. Especially after refusing to talk about his own past.
Vic finally snapped out of his little trance and rubbed his eyes, "She only remembers him a little. A few odd pieces here and there in her memory. Was wrong of me to mention him like that. I just don't want her near any fucking harm."
Both men then let a comfortable silence take over the camp. Aside from the trees and the fire, some small faint snores could be heard from Ellie. They weren't loud and destructive like some of the folks in saloons. They were more like high-pitched little tiny breaths. Vic just smirked at the sight of her. This tough little gal, taking out raiders with her bow, better than some professional hunters could, still looked like a child when she finally got off to sleep.
"I'm gonna send her back on a train tomorrow, before we head to where we need to be." Vic finally told Sawyer.
"Send her home?"
"You been listening to me?" The deputy asked, very sternly.
"I have, but hear me out, Vic." Sawyer started, "You and me, we've been on Roland's trail for a few days now. Only been doing this together for a matter of hours, right?"
Vic didn't speak, he just listened.
"Speaking for us both... We ain't exactly been the subtlest we could'a been at this point." Sawyer said carefully, "And 'cause of that, we almost got killed or maybe even worse."
"Kid, if you got some point, hurry up and make it."
Sawyer sat up again, "Ellie saved our asses. No denying that. And she managed to elude you for fucking days. On top of that, she even left to go huntin' and then manage to track us down again."
Vic's face twisted with thought, he didn't know whether to punch Sawyer or listen some more. Before he could decide, Sawyer had already continued.
"What I'm gettin' at is... Maybe you shouldn't send her back home. Let her stay, let her help. Clearly she wants to and even more clearly, she can handle herself better than some adults I seen." Sawyer suggested, "If she could help track that son of a bitch the same way she's tracked you, then maybe she's some help we could use."
Sawyer made his point and then lay himself back down. Vic had went to smoke another cigarette but suddenly realised he had frozen up while Sawyer had been speaking. After a minute he finally did spark up another and dragged it hard. The kid had made a damn good point, and Vic knew deep down that even if he threw Ellie onto a train himself, it'd take a matter of days before she would just appear out of nowhere again. As much as she looked up to him, she lived to defy him.
The Tumbleweed maverick still didn't like the idea of keeping her around for the journey. But maybe if he laid down some rules, she'd obey them if it meant she could tag along. A big maybe, since any form of rules didn't go down well with Ellie.
Vic looked down at the outlaw, "A'ight... But if she get's in any trouble at all... It's on your ass."
Sawyer scoffed, "Nah, nah, I don't think so, deputy. Don't try and lay that risk on my shoulders, I got enough on 'em. That's your fucking decision, I'm just giving my two cents."
Sawyer went quiet again, leaving Vic to his conflicting thoughts. And after a few minutes of peace, smoking and thinking, Vic looked at Ellie and made his decision. Maybe it was time she saw a bit of the world, something she'd wanted for as long as he could remember. But by god he was gonna watch her like a hawk.
"Well, you get yourself some damn good sleep, kid." Vic chuckled, "Tomorrow we got a big day."
"How'd you figure?" Sawyer asked, his eyes still closed.
"Well if Payne's gonna rob a bank in that big city... We're gonna need some fucking help to stop that and get him."
"Damn right, what you got in mind?"
"Well, I got these two contacts that might have what we need." Vic replied, "Two English fella's, bothers, they run a hotel. Also deal some other stuff on the down low. I think we oughta go seen 'em."
"Sounds good, where are they?" Sawyer asked, his voice weakening as he drifted further to sleep.
"Strawberry. West Elizabeth." Vic replied, smirking and smoking.
And with that, Sawyer struggled to sleep for the rest of that whole night. They were going back to the state where he was wanted immediately for hanging.