"That might just be the stupidest idea you've had yet, Bill. Not ever, I'm sure you'll find a way to come up with something more stupid than what you just proposed to us," Arthur said sarcastically. Cassidy noticed he had way with insulting his friends without coming off as a truly mean person. In some strange way, it was endearing.
"Stupid? That ain't right, Morgan. An explosive would kill half them O'Driscolls then we could handle the rest easily," Bill answered desperately. He was always anxious to have an idea that the others called "perfect" or "smart". Most of his plans fell flat on their face and he'd be teased about it for days, sometimes months. He was excited when Dutch asked him to join Arthur, John, Charles and Cassidy in ambushing some O'Driscoll camp. The anticipation he felt was being overcome by anger and embarrassment. He turned to face Arthur, who was riding right next to him, he did not seem even slightly convinced.
Cassidy, who was riding on John's horse this time, spoke up from behind them. "I reckon trees don't play nice with explosives. Also don't that defeat the purpose of an ambush?" she asked, her tone was clearly critical. She thought Dutch's gang prided themselves on being intelligent outlaws, it seemed like Bill was an exception. This led her to wonder why they kept him around since Colm would shoot one of his men if they said something that ridiculous. She didn't think Dutch would even consider doing that.
Bill saw her response as an opportunity to impress his fellow gang members. "I wasn't talking to you, O'Driscoll. Marston, could you shut the bitch up?"
John huffed; he knew what Bill was trying to do. Also, he didn't listen to anyone really, besides Dutch. He smirked when he thought of a way to piss off Bill, which was something he took deep pleasure in. He reached behind him and placed his hand on Cassidy's thigh. "Would you mind keeping it down, sweetheart? Bill has trouble focusing when too many people talk at once," he said gently, though just loud enough for Bill to hear.
Cassidy understood his intentions, she would've hurt him if she felt differently about his touch. She thought playing along might be entertaining. She scooted closer to John, lowering her hands to his stomach as she whispered in his ear, "you owe me a bottle of whiskey for this." She pretended to laugh even though he said nothing. Bill was fuming while Arthur and Charles were fully aware of what was happening.
"I've got more to offer than whiskey, Cassie," he whispered back. She was flustered by his comment. It had been some time since she had slept with a man, which left her feeling frustrated. She knew she'd have to sleep with someone to get rid of that feeling eventually. Though she'd have to choose carefully since she'd prefer not to get stabbed in her sleep by one of the women at camp.
"Jesus John, the hell is wrong with you? I bet Abigail is gonna wanna hear all about this!" Bill said assertively.
John removed his hand quickly at the sound of that name. Cassidy knew he wouldn't be an option at that moment.
"Alright, settle down you three… we're almost there," Arthur said, slowing down his horse as he scanned the area. He put his hand up as a signal that they had arrived. "Let's leave the horses here," he added, getting off and tying his horse to a tree. Everyone else followed his movements.
"Do we actually have a plan that doesn't involve explosives?" asked Charles, who'd been quiet during the brief ride.
Arthur stopped and looked at him, then to Cassidy. "If she walks in alone, they'd be too distracted to notice us," he said slowly as the scenario played out in his head.
Cassidy chuckled quietly. "Christ, now that's a plan even I can get behind." She put her hand out in front of him and Arthur knew what she wanted without words. He took his precious revolver out of its holster and placed it in her hand. She checked how many bullets it had and shoved it in her belt.
"Be ready to get behind cover when we shoot," John said to her. She nodded before jogging towards the O'Driscoll camp. The three of them crouched and began to follow her.
"Hey! Anyone out here?!" Cassidy shouted, pretending like she didn't know the exact location of the camp.
There was a heavy pause before someone answered. "Who's there?!" asked a man with a thick Irish accent. He stood at the edge of their camp, aiming his gun at the woman he didn't recognize.
"Cassidy, you moron. What you boys doing out here?" she asked as she got closer to them. She saw about ten O'Driscoll boys scattered around the area, all staring at her with wide eyes. Some of them she recognized, others must've been hired recently
"Colm sent us looking for you. What happened?" asked the same man.
She sighed impatiently, the attack should've started by now, unless they wanted to see how the O'Driscoll boys would react to her. Perhaps it was to confirm that she is truly Colm's daughter. "I got lost chasing a butterfly in the middle of a blizzard, what do you think happened?" she said spitefully.
No one dared to push back. "Come sit down, we got food. We can take you back to camp in the morning. Colm is gonna be real happy that we found yo-" the O'Driscoll was cut off by a bullet going straight through his neck. He gargled momentarily before collapsing onto the ground, blood oozing from him like sweet sap from a maple tree. Cassidy jumped towards the nearest cover which was a tree. Guns were drawn and firing in random directions as the O'Driscoll boys scrambled to take cover. They were sloppy and caught off guard. Arthur's plan was working perfectly.
"It's Dutch's boys, she fucking set us up!" shouted an O'Driscoll, who was shooting at the tree she was hiding behind.
"She's with us now you O'Driscoll scum!" John yelled, his voice sounding raspier than usual.
Cassidy refused to remain still in the middle of a firefight, she took out Arthur's gun and sent three bullets into a man's chest. She pushed forward, taking cover behind a barrel. She shot two more men until the fight seemed to be over. When she got up, she saw that Arthur had one surviving O'Driscoll pinned down and disarmed. He was squirming and struggling as hard as he could.
"Cassidy! Please don't let them do this, I won't say shit to Colm, I swear it. Just tell them to let me go!" he exclaimed, pleading to her with sadness in his eyes.
Cassidy stood over him, noting the green scarf around his neck. She used to wear one like it was her second skin, yet she hadn't thought of it until now.
"You sound like you're begging for your life. That ain't very O'Driscoll of you, I wonder what Colm would think?" she asked teasingly.
The O'Driscoll immediately tried to toughen up, like a dog trying to please its owner. "I ain't begging!"
"You're gonna go back to Colm and tell him exactly what happened here, every goddamn detail or I'll break every bone in your body. Understood?" Arthur asked cruelly, speaking powerfully in his face. Still, he looked to Cassidy for confirmation.
She tried not to think about what Colm would do when he found out. He'd probably shoot the messenger, it didn't matter to her either way. "You heard what he said. If you value your life, you'll use my name."
"I… I understand," he said shakily. Arthur released him and he sprinted towards the horses. There was silence until he was gone.
"Those gunshots made plenty of noise. John, Bill, Charles, head back to camp separately. Make sure you're not followed. Cassidy, stay with me while I see if there's anything worth taking here," Arthur instructed. Cassidy remained still until she and Arthur were alone.
"I suppose your tough guy act works on some fellers," she finally said.
Arthur looked up at her from a body he was looting. "Trust me, you ain't see nothing yet," he answered, sounding slightly displeased with himself. "Thanks for pulling your weight back there. Things went smoothly cause of you."
Cassidy observed him for a moment longer before doing some searching of her own. There was a shift in the dynamics between them, from hostile to civilized, not quite friendly. "I did what I had to, I suppose."
Arthur watched her when she wasn't looking at him, pretending to be focused on going through a small supply of canned goods. "You know any of them?"
She paused, looking at the lifeless face of a man she robbed with a few times. She couldn't recall his name. "Nope, Colm had too many men to remember," she lied. She figured it sounded better than saying she knew the men that she had helped kill.
"That's uh, probably for the best."
They finished their search soon after and begin walking towards his horse. Cassidy remembered she still had his gun. Not long ago she would've shot him without blinking an eye. Now she only thought to return the weapon to its rightful owner. She stopped, handing it over to him.
"Thanks for letting me use it. It's a fine gun," she said, watching him put it away.
"Well, you know what they say, a gun is only as fine as the man who fires it, or woman in your case," he said lightheartedly, flashing her a subtle smile.
Cassidy smiled back forwardly. "Then you must think highly of yourself," she said as they continued walking. Unlike other times, Arthur actually helped her onto his horse.
"No, not in the slightest," Arthur said jokingly, even though he really meant what he said. He had no illusions about himself. He was by definition a bad man who committed crimes for a living. He didn't pretend that made him good as others in the Van der Linde gang did.
"What a shame, an old gunslinger with poor self-esteem. Someone should write a tragedy about you," Cassidy said, smiling through her words so he didn't take her seriously.
"Uh-huh. I'll let that one slide, O'Driscoll, just the once."
They rode back to camp in silence since there was nothing to say. Arthur and Cassidy shared a distaste for forced conversation. They never felt the need to comment on the fresh spring weather or how pretty the sky looked that evening. They could sense this from each other since there was no unspoken discomfort lingering in the air. Arthur finally spoke as they were navigating their way through the forest just outside of camp.
"I'll tell Dutch you did good today," he said blatantly, giving Javier a nod, who was on guard duty by himself.
Cassidy pursed her lips. "Does that mean killing O'Driscolls is the only thing I can do to please you?" she asked dryly. She was somewhere between joking and being serious.
Arthur hesitated; he didn't expect that response. "Didn't realize it was me that you were trying to please."
She shook her head with amusement, not embarrassed by his comment. "If pleasing you means you not wanting to kill me anymore, then sure, I live to please you, Arthur."
She hopped off his horse before it was hitched and headed towards camp. Arthur watched her, a part of him was waiting to see if she'd look back at him. She didn't.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Send me feedback, comments or predictions, I'd love to hear what everyone is thinking.
Disclaimer: I do not own RDR.