CHAPTER XXIII

SAINT DENIS, LEMOYNE NATIONAL BANK, JUNE 9TH 1900

Silence. Aside from the murmuring crowd, cries and yells of terror in the distance, not a sound came from anyone on the roof. Not Sawyer, not Vic, not Roland and especially not Ellie. The young huntress was still completely unconscious nearby on the roof floor, her face covered in gravel and bruises.

Sawyer still held Vic's empty LeMat at Roland who stood over him, smirking with his appalling teeth and wide, sickening eyes. The outlaw was truly scared. He knew the gun was not loaded, but he had no idea if his adversary knew that too. If so, thing's were not going to go down as planned.

Vic was propping himself up on the roof ledge, half his face a blackish red with blood and puss from the loss of his eye. Despite the pain and visual difficulty, he stood with a look of pure anger and rage. He was possibly even shaking with contempt, Sawyer noticed.

Roland had done it. He'd done what Sawyer had truly feared since the day he met Vic and Ellie. He'd spilled the truth to his unlikely friend, possibly shattering the bond they'd built in only a few days. It was Sawyer that had killed Quinn and Warren. It had never been Roland. Vic had been pursuing the wrong man all along.

"That true?" Vic asked, his voice a raspy whisper.

Sawyer's eyes darted between his friend and his enemy. He was at a loss for words. He didn't know whether to admit the truth or to lie further. Either way, he was sure he was a dead man.

Vic then looked directly at the kid, "I said... Is that fuckin' TRUE!?"

Sawyer felt the lump in his chest come up to his throat. The first time he could've genuinely cried in as long as he could recall. Nothing had prepared him for this moment. No amount of fearing, wondering and hoping could've helped him be ready for his inevitability.

"Answer the man, boy..." Roland whispered, "Speak to your friend..."

The former bandit was still at a loss for words. It was like the world was looking at him and waiting. He'd never felt anything like it before. One way or the other, he was gonna be cast out.

"Vic..." Sawyer started, "I just wanna say..."

The Tumbleweed deputy finally pulled himself from the roof wall and stood unsteadily on his feet. His teeth gritted together like a startled bear.

"I don't give a shit what you say unless its the fuckin' truth, kid." Vic growled, "Now spill!"

"A'ight!" Sawyer shouted, his voice breaking, "I killed 'em! It was fuckin' me! In Strawberry, it was me that gunned 'em both down!"

Roland smiled with such pleasure at his former friend's admittance of guilt. For a moment, he thought it better than any murder or robbery he'd ever committed. Only for a moment though.

"You lyin' son of a bitch..." Vic whispered, turning away from both Roland and Sawyer.

Sawyer kept the gun on Roland, but turned his whole attention to Vic, "It was self defense, Vic! I didn't know what to fuckin' do at the time!"

"Don't even dare try and justify it, kid. You killed 'em. You killed my fuckin' friends."

Sawyer eyes widened, "I'm your fuckin' friend too, Vic!"

The deputy took a few seconds to respond, looking over the ledge at the street below with his only good eye left. His vision was still fuzzy and his head and body still hurt. But the pain was washed away by the rage that had engulfed his entirety.

"You ain't anybody's friend, Sawyer." Vic said with pure disdain, "You're a fuckin' liar."

Sawyer could almost feel his heart rupture. The only friend he truly had in the world, and by default, Ellie too, were now gone to him. Vic's words cut through him deeper than any injury had ever done.

"Hurt's, I bet, don't it?" Roland said again, his brown, plaque-covered teeth still smiling, "Knowin' just how fuckin' alone and pathetic you are."

"You shut the fuck up!" Sawyer spat, turning back to Roland, "No matter what... You ain't gettin' outer this... One way or another"

Vic grimaced in Sawyer's direction, "Well how the fuck d'ya figure that kid? That's my fuckin' gun you're holdin' and it ain't even loaded anymore."

Upon hearing that, Roland's smile collapsed and he looked at Sawyer. The kid didn't even see the punch coming. The hulking monster dropped his former comrade with one right hook.

Sawyer fell to the floor and hit his head on the gravel hard, knocking him somewhere else.

"The fuck?!" Vic shouted in confusion.

Even Vic saw Roland's move across his mangled eyesight. It didn't matter what Sawyer had done, Vic still wasn't about to let Roland go. After what he'd done to Ellie, as far as Vic was concerned, Roland was a dead man walking.

"Come here, you fuck!" Vic roared as he charged towards the man that had beaten him only minutes earlier.

Roland darted around and saw Vic heading towards him, but knowing his sight was way off, the murderer simply side stepped the deputy who promptly fell straight to the floor.

"Where ya goin', Marshall?" Roland asked, giggling to himself, "That ain't the way to door."

Vic lay on the ground, the pain in his face and body coming back to him. He breathed hard into the ground, taking in dirt, grime and dust. He began to cough and choke while Roland approached him.

"Ya know, I gotta say, I've enjoyed this fuckin' game." Roland said, standing over his three battered enemies, "Never been pursued by anyone as consistent as you cocksuckers. But it's gotta end here."

While looking down at his victory, Roland noticed Vic's second LeMat on the roof floor. Knowing the one Sawyer had was empty, Roland took the second and inspected it. It was a gun he'd never came across before. It was nice and he liked the patterned engraved across it.

"Shotgun round chamber too, huh?" Roland said aloud, "A nice fuckin' weapon, Marshall. I think I'll keep it."

The vicious marauder then walked back over to Ellie instead of either of the men, pulling back the hammer of the gun.

Vic tried to get up, but the pain was too much. He could only watch from his blurry eye what Roland was doing. He could see him towering over Ellie who was still unconscious. He aimed the gun at her head while Vic began to grown in terror.

"She's a fuckin' feisty one, ain't she." Roland laughed, "I like her."

Before anything could continue, the four of them were joined on the roof by a familiar ugly face who bolted through the smashed door.

"We gotta fuckin' move, Roland!" Agent Wilson shouted fast.

The hulking bandit turned to his accomplice, "What's the damn hurry?"

"Saint Denis pigs are on their fuckin' way... They've heard the commotion and are comin' down here from the tram. Closin' in fast."

Vic looked up at the bent Pinkerton agent and sneered in disgust. He'd never imagined how low a man of the law could possibly stoop. It was probably naïve of him, but Vic had always held the law in high regard, no matter what the form.

It didn't take long for Agent Wilson to look down and see his fellow lawman and scoff at the sight of him. Even the brutalised state of Vic's face didn't bring any empathy from the Pinkerton agent. If anything, it brought pleasure and satisfaction.

"What happened to your face?" Roland asked, noticing Wilson had a gash on his eyebrow and nose.

"That fuckin' drip of piss caught me in an alley." Wilson replied, referring to Sawyer.

Once said, Wilson turned and noticed the barely conscious former outlaw laid out on the roof floor. He was still holding the empty LeMat and was bleeding from the mouth.

"Ahh, there's the cocksucker." Wilson chuckled, "Almost broke my damn nose."

Walking over to Sawyer, Wilson soon began to kick him hard in the ribs, causing the young man to groan in pain once again. His ribs were only just beginning to feel alright, now the Pinkerton was undoing the work, striking him hard.

"Stupid! Motherless! Poxy asshole!" Wilson shouted with every kick before spitting down onto Sawyer, "Want me to finish 'em off?!"

"Nah, let 'em feel the pain. Motherfucker's ought to know who they're dealin' with." Roland replied, "They're gonna end up killin' eachother anyway."

Roland then looked from Wilson back to Ellie, which Vic noticed. The deputy was in no condition to help anyone, not even himself, so the pain and suffering he felt within was crippling. Ellie was inches from death and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Wilson saw what Roland was doing and began to grow impatient.

"Roland! We gotta fuckin' go!" The Pinkerton shouted.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Roland yelled, turning his head, "You shout at me again and I'll throw you OFF this damn roof!"

"Well, what're you doin'!? We have to get movin'!" Wilson then replied, his patience fading and his eagerness to leave growing.

"Not sure yet..." Roland said, looking down, "This girl put up one hell of a fuckin' fight."

Wilson sighed to himself, "Oh for fuck sake, then just take her! If all you want is some fuckin' fun with yourself, grab her and lets move!"

Vic heard the Pinkerton's words and began to hyperventilate on the ground. He tried so hard to get himself up to help Ellie and stop Roland, even if deep down he knew the effort was futile.

"Ain't a bad idea, I think..." Roland whispered to himself, grinning once again, "You can come with me, ya little bitch."

"No..." Vic grunted, "Don't even fuckin' touch her..."

"You can keep quiet!" Wilson shouted downwards before punting Vic in the gut to keep him on the floor.

The deputy let out an agonizing scream, squirming to catch his breath and spitting out the blood and grime that infested his mouth.

Roland looked at Wilson's work and laughed before finally dropping the LeMat and grasping Ellie by her shirt and belt, hoisting her up and over his shoulder. She was still completely out as Vic saw her face against Roland's back.

"Please... Don't... She ain't got... Any part of this." Vic whispered through the pain, pleading with the towering demon to leave the girl alone.

"Don't you worry yourself, Marshall." Roland said, looking down at his brutal work, "She won't suffer... Not at the end."

The maverick lawman seethed with pain and rage on the ground, thinking of everything. Ellie, her Dad, killing Roland, killing Sawyer, but there was nothing he could do. He'd never felt so helpless.

"A'ight, let's fuckin' move already." Wilson stated, gesturing towards the door and stairwell.

Roland carried Ellie like she weighed the same as a feather as he stomped his way across the roof and back into the Bank.

Vic saw Ellie still unconscious and battered before she disappeared into the building with the monster carrying her, like she was a hog ready for a spit. The deputy wanted to wail in frustration and failure. The only thing that stopped him was the pain in his face and body.

"I wouldn't bother followin' us Noble." Wilson stated with snigger, "By the time you even get the chance to catch up, we'll be long gone and the girl in little fuckin' pieces."

Vic stared up at Wilson with his one eye and said nothing. He simply seethed in anger, bleeding and drooling from the mouth until Wilson winked at him once and quickly departed from the roof, following Roland down the stairs. Vic felt his remaining eye well up with horror and panic.

The air was still filled with the confusion and screams from the Saint Denis people across town near the burning tram. The smoke was still lifting high above the Lemoyne capital. Roland had won. He'd managed to rob the bank and get away. And he'd taken the only person Vic truly cared for away to almost certain torture and death.

Minutes went by of nothingness. Both Sawyer and Vic lay on the bank roof in pain and shame. Both men had failed at their mission and Vic had now found out the truth that his younger companion had kept from him since the day they first met. The deputy didn't know what to feel more. Desperate fear for Ellie or pure hatred for Sawyer.

Vic knew that he'd have to take Sawyer in for his crimes, but he couldn't get the thought of Ellie out of his head as he lay on his back staring at the ever darkening sky. As each minute passed, Roland and Ellie were getting further and further away. Vic could only wait until his agony had subsided enough for him to be able to move and give chase.

After more frightening minutes passed by, Vic saw Sawyer beginning to finally come around from his haze. The young outlaw rolled over onto his face and propped himself up with the LeMat. It took a few moments for him to really notice the scene he was left in. Blood spread across the gravel-covered floor and then the blood-soaked Vic.

"Where is he?" Sawyer asked, his voice a grim whisper.

Vic then managed to sit himself up and lay his back against the metal vent on the roof, "He got away... Typical, ain't it?"

"Fuck!" Sawyer screamed, "How'd you fuckin' let that happen?!"

"Kid... I don't know if you've noticed... But I ain't in the best of fuckin' shapes right now!"

Sawyer got to his feet and peered over the roof ledge. He couldn't see anybody but people running or walking away from the commotion at the top of town.

"That was our only fuckin' chance... What're we gonna do now?" Sawyer asked, bewildered and breathless.

"We?" Vic asked, "What fuckin' we?!"

The young renegade then turned back to the lawman, suddenly remembering what had happened minutes earlier before Roland had taken him down.

"Vic..." Sawyer said, his voice sad, "I can fuckin' explain."

"Shut your mouth!" Vic growled, "There ain't a thing you can say anymore, boy. In fact, the only fuckin' reason you're still alive right now is because my LeMat's are empty."

"I know I fucked up! God knows that I fucked up!" Sawyer pleaded, "But I'm tryin' to make up for that!"

"You can't make up for what you done..." Vic said quietly, looking away, "Not unless you can bring back the dead."

Sawyer stared at Vic for a few moments, his face a picture of regret and internal pain. Vic would not even look him in the eye. He kept his eyes focused on the door to the stairwell.

"Those men were my friends... They had wives back in New Austin... And you fuckin' killed them."

"I was in a corner! I didn't wanna do it! I tried to get them to back off!"

"They wouldn't have even killed you." Vic sighed, "Arrested you, sure. But neither of them had it in them to just shoot you. They had fuckin' honor."

Sawyer scoffed, "Not exactly like you then, huh!?"

Vic finally snapped away from the door and glared at Sawyer, "What was that?!"

The young outlaw stood quiet, not replying. The two men simply locked eyes and didn't move or speak for a few dragging moments.

"I didn't fully catch that, Sawyer..." Vic said, finally finding the strength to stand back up, "Please fuckin' repeat it..."

"Honor? You wanna talk about honor? Comin' from the man of the law that can't even arrest people, he's gotta always shoot 'em on sight? That's fuckin' rich!" Sawyer finally broke.

Vic listened and couldn't help but breathe heavily in fiery rage. He began to approach Sawyer sternly, still a little uneasy on his feet.

"I ain't doin' this with you, Vic." Sawyer said, holding out his hands, "No fuckin' way."

"You're gonna fuckin' lecture me on my life... When you stand there, a dirty liar, murderer and a thief?!" Vic replied, his voice growing louder and louder.

Sawyer couldn't reply, but soon found his shirt clasped by Vic's bloody hands. The deputy dragged him in close, almost nose to nose.

"I fuckin' ought to shoot you on sight, you piece of shit. After all, that's the reason I'm out here. To find the motherfucker that killed my friends." Vic snarled, "And it was always you. You stood by my side, you slept next to me and Ellie!"

"And I saved your fuckin' life! More than once!" Sawyer yelled, "Or is that part gettin' thrown outer the window, huh?!"

Vic found himself quiet. He didn't know what to say. The kid had raised a good point. But it wasn't truly enough for him.

"You've seen what Roland does and what he's capable of!" Sawyer shouted, "You're tellin' me that I'm the fuckin' threat here!?"

"Oh I'll get Roland... Don't lose any sleep over that, kid. But you're fuckin' done." Vic replied, "You hear me?!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're done. You are out. I'm goin' after that beast and you're gettin' as far away from here as you can possibly fuckin' go."

"This is my fight too, Vic! Even more than yours!"

"LISTEN!" Vic roared, shaking Sawyer, "I won't kill you... And I won't take you in... But I don't have to do this with you anymore!"

Sawyer and Vic kept eyes on eachother for another tense moment, the outlaw not knowing what to say. Vic was willing to let him go, but he'd have to forgo his vendetta. The only thing that had kept him going since the day he awoke at Emerald Ranch.

"So do me a favor... And fucking go!" Vic said in anger, finally throwing Sawyer to the floor.

The young man looked up at the lacerated lawman and didn't want to say a word. At last, he thought it was worth giving Vic the space he clearly wanted. It was hard for Sawyer to maintain his silence and protests, but it was clear that he and Vic were no longer companions. He'd truly and fatefully lost his only friend.

Vic promptly picked up his LeMat from Sawyer's side and then limped over to pick up the other that Roland had dropped earlier. Thankfully, he noticed, it had always been empty. Even if Roland had shot at Ellie, nothing would've happened. But it didn't matter anymore. The monster had still kidnapped her, now Vic had only one mission. To get her back.

It wasn't until Vic began readying himself that Sawyer noticed it finally. Ellie was gone. She wasn't present on the roof anymore.

"Wait... Where is she, Vic?" Sawyer said panicked, "Where the fuck is Ellie?!"

Vic turned and pointed his finger straight at Vic, "She ain't your fuckin' business anymore! So shut your mouth!"

Sawyer's eyes were wide and filled with terror for the girl. He knew deep down what had happened when he was out, but Vic was not going to budge an inch anymore. Sawyer had lost every privilege.

The maverick deputy holstered both his LeMat's, all while keeping a hand over the slimy, gaping hole where his eye had once been. He made his way to the door of the stairwell before turning back to Sawyer once more.

"I don't ever wanna see your face again..." Vic whispered, "And if I do... I'll fuckin' kill you myself."

Sawyer kept his eyes on Vic, the man who'd been giving him his only chance at redemption, until he was gone. The deputy's departure leaving the young former bandit completely alone once again.

The sky was slowly losing light and the Saint Denis lawmen getting ever closer.

Sawyer sat alone, almost as still as a corpse, for minutes on end. He'd lost everything. Not only had Roland got away yet again and was still at large, he'd lost his only two friends in the world. The only two people who'd looked at him as a human being and not a criminal. And now all of that was gone.

He pondered what to do. His mind going to every possibility. Did he ignore Vic's words and pursue Roland further? Did he hand himself in to the authorities? Either of West Elizabeth or New Austin? But he couldn't possibly decide. The only other choice was to heed Vic's warning and leave. Go as far away as possible and disappear. That idea was slightly attractive, but Sawyer felt himself hit a wall.

His head and face went into his hands. He wanted to cry, but it seemed that at some point along his relatively short life, he'd forgotten how to. He was overcome with emotion and sadness at the day's events but he found himself unable to truly shed a tear. Instead he continued to curse himself and his actions. He seemed to believe punishing himself was the only adequate option going forward.

At one point, while staring off into the darkening sky, Sawyer thought that a simple jump from the roof could do it. That could end the suffering he'd been in for so long. But was he strong enough? He thought. Did he have it in him to take his own life if he now couldn't even take Roland's? It was an impossible choice.

Eventually, Sawyer snapped out of his existential trance and noticed the voices from down the street. He wasn't a wanted man in Saint Denis, but being seen as the only man left in the National Bank, with all the blood and bodies in the lobby, he'd be a sure target by the lawmen in town. He had to make a move immediately, or else any of the choices in his head would be ripped away from him. And he wasn't about to let that happen again.

The young renegade got to his feet and patted himself down. Taking a quick glance over the edge again, he could hear the lawmen getting closer. Their voices grew louder by the second, but as of yet, he couldn't see any of them in vicinity. Now was his last chance to escape.

Moving to the stair well, Sawyer found himself having to limp slightly again thanks to the pain in his ribs. Someone had kicked him when he was out, probably Roland, he thought.

He managed to get down the echoing stairwell as quick as he possibly could and moved sharply down the cold corridor back towards the Bank lobby. The room was still painted red from all the blood and cluttered with the multiple corpses of the O'Driscoll heavies and the two Bankers. It was sickening to see. Another two people had lost their lives thanks to Roland. Though he couldn't have cared less about the scruffy, hideous thugs that had been put down. Good riddance, he thought.

Stepping through the blood, his boots got wet and slippery as he soon exited the double oak-wood doors and got back into the smoke-smelling air of town. The smoke from the burning wreckage at the top of Saint Denis was still rising high into the evening sky. The carnage that had been raised was significant, and if the noise of frightened citizens was anything to go by, the people of town had still not quite comprehended what had happened yet.

The voices of the lawmen were getting close, Sawyer noticed. They were making their way down the alley's across the road. He had maybe a matter of seconds before they'd show up and see him. With that moment being his only chance, Sawyer took note of the fact that the horse carriage outside had gone, Roland clearly having got away But there was also completely no sign of Vic. The deputy was badly injured, yet his determination had still managed to help him get outer the area and onto Roland's tail fast.

With one final contemplation of giving himself up, Sawyer watched the alleyways across the street while quickly backing away. And by the time the lawmen of Saint Denis arrived upon the chaotic and brutal scene at the bank, the young outlaw had made his escape.