(Chapter 29: The bank robbery)
It was the next day and the Marston Gang was riding towards Saint Denis to hitch a ride on the ferry boat containing copious amounts of American currency. Bill's half of the gang was tasked with overlooking Blackwater, they were not as suspicious in appearance as Jack Marston's half.
A sense of pride yet worry was in the heart and mind of Bill Pierce, he didn't sign up to be in a gang that would kill and rob people, but he would do anything to get his amount of money at the end of the day. Confidence remained high in Jack Marston, he felt that the gang had overcome a good slew of obstacles already and business was booming. Today was going to be a big day for the gang, whether the bank robbery goes south or whether it plays out perfectly, he would still be proud of the things they had accomplished.
The son of the legendary outlaw John Marston knew that law would be a huge presence in Blackwater, especially after the events that happened only yesterday when he and his love were attacked at the theatre. Nothing good came out of that day, the lovers were attacked by a rival gang and pressured by the lawmen, they managed to kill an important figure in the BlackJacks gang, but it would only piss them off further.
He kept troubling issues in the back of his head as the many hooves of the horses pounded into the dirt road path. With BlackJacks and lawmen patrolling Blackwater, Jack brought along several of his gang, not all of them, he didn't want to make a scene when they first arrived.
Finally, the large arch that hung over the bridge could be seen in the distance. Jack Marston's squadron of gunmen and gun-women emerged from the swamps, passing by a few gators in the process and some feral hogs. Saint Denis was the same, just as Jack had seen it when he was briefly in the fighting pits, where his journey and tale began.
"This has been a long time coming ladies and gentlemen, remain strong and confident, harden those hearts within your chests. No matter what the outcome is, I am happy at how far we all have come along. Bill Pierce is handling things down South in Blackwater, have faith in that man, he ain't the smartest of people ya know!" Jack shouted with a chuckle along with his crewmates, poking fun at Bill Pierce once more, luckily the prizefighter wasn't there to hear this defamation.
Down in Blackwater, Bill Pierce stood on the docks, patiently waiting for the ferry to come strolling towards them. A cool breeze blew through his growing hair that began to get longer, getting down to the bottom of his neck in terms of length for the amount of time he had been growing it. A beard was starting to grow too, the prizefighter wore casual civilian clothing to disguise himself among the Blackwater citizens.
His brown eyes glanced from left to ride, scanning his surroundings. Lawmen were everywhere, including some BlackJacks. Thankfully for Bill, Markus Van Der Linde wasn't one of those people in the area at the time. The bank was not too far away from where the former champion of Saint Denis stood, it was a small bank but enough to suffice in the eyes of Jack Marston.
It was a peaceful, beautiful sunny day. Not a cloud was in the sky, Bill sighed as he knew it would get ugly when the ferry containing the money would arrive. Seagulls chirped as they flew through the air, some of the white birds pecked at crumbs and bread scattered on the streets.
Bill discovered that Blackwater was indeed a growing boom town, it was much larger than it once was. Expanding further North and plans for a bridge had been underway, a large bridge to cross the Flat Iron Lake. The prizefighter couldn't wait for the bridge to be complete, it would make journeys much more short than they needed to be. What could be done within a few hours could be done within just a few minutes. As he stood there and thought of what to do when the time of the robbery arises, the prizefighter overheard a familiar voice, it was Douglas Mulligan, leader of the BlackJacks.
"Shaw died to an irish whore and a Godless outlaw, how unfortunate." Douglas was overheard saying to Nicholas Lanza, referencing how Shaw had died yesterday during the failed attempt at capturing the Marston Gang leaders.
"He was a real fighter, could have done us wonders." Nicholas answered with a sigh.
"Shaw was disposable at best, he didn't do a damn thing during his time in the gang. He was just there tagging along." Douglas growled, he held disdain for people who didn't work hard in his gang.
"You treated him with care during his early years in the gang, what happened to your care?" Nicholas asked with a raised eyebrow, a look of confusion on his face.
"I helped him to get on his feet, and when he did get to his feet, he only got us into trouble time and time again. When shit got started up, he was never there to help. His attempts to help have always been in vain and was always in vain."
"Perhaps we shouldn't have let the Marstons run, we shouldn't have given them a day. We could have killed them back in Mexico. Now look where we are, we lost an important member to our gang and we don't know where the hell they are."
"Shaw was not important in even the slightest bit, I thought those Marston fools would be tired and worn out by the time we got back. They've proven to be much more than we originally thought."
"Old Man Jonas would have them all killed when we first had them, you promised to be like Jonas. Where did that legacy go?"
"To Hell with Old Man Jonas and his legacy, I am in control. I've been in control, it is under my vision that Jack Marston will die. It is under my vision that we will cross the Atlantic and get to Europe, away from this dying country. His legacy died along with him, leaving all of our former history beyond the Grizzlies."
Nicholas Lanza shook his head in disbelief and walked away, Bill Pierce had overheard everything and chuckled to himself silently. Even the BlackJacks were having some squabbles just as The Marstons did.
Douglas Mulligan seethed as Nicholas walked away because he knew that Lanza was right. All of this could have been avoided had they stayed in the MidWest, but fate drove them away, the leader of the BlackJacks felt that fate was driving him to his unfortunate destiny even as he tried his damndest to avoid it.
"Feeling the pressure of being a leader on you, cowboy?" A familiar soothing voice spoke from behind Douglas, the BlackJack leader turned to see the Strange Man once again. The same man from Mexico took him by surprise.
"Why do you keep showing up? I want an answer."
"I follow everyone I'm close with, it is sort of a duty of mine. I share the same duty with everyone at some point in their life, some sooner rather than later and some later rather than sooner, but everyone sees me."
"Quit speaking in damn riddles, what is your name…"
"That is the most damndest thing my friend, I'm cursed to not know my own name. Quite tragic, isn't it?"
Douglas had enough of the Strange Man not answering him and instead speaking in mysterious riddles, this man had been in the head of the BlackJack leader ever since Mexico and was also one of the reasons he was trying to kill Jack Marston as soon as possible.
"Damn you, stop following me."
"Many have, my friend, oh yes, many have damned me before and they will again. You've painted a rather foul picture across the canvas of this country plagued with hardships, Jonas isn't proud of your actions. Nicholas is right, you're forgetting important people."
"Go the Hell away."
"As you wish, Douglas Mulligan," The Strange Man spoke before he whistled for a horse. From around the corner of a building, it was a rather pale horse, it appeared weak, but the hooves were heavy as they slammed into the pavement. Scorch marks appeared to be left behind in the pavement as the horse trotted towards the Strange Man, as if Hell was following it.
"But I will see you again, as I always do. Don't worry, for when you see me again, it shall be the last time you see me." The Man continued before riding away, his pale horse neighing as he rounded the corner. Douglas followed the movement of the horse as it rounded the corner, when it supposedly passed the alley way from which the BlackJack leader could see him, he had vanished without a trace.
Bill Pierce looked confused, it seemed that Douglas Mulligan was talking to thin air. As if he was speaking to someone invisible, the prizefighter began to ponder if the leader of the BlackJacks was going insane.
Douglas began to walk away from his section of the docks with a cigar in his hands, he lit the cancer stick up as he walked down the street towards the BlackWater Saloon for a recreational smoke session.
"No one has a say in my future, that man is never going to see me again. I'll go to a place where he'll never expect to find me." Douglas muttered to himself as he walked in through the double doors, out of the prizefigher's sight.
(A few hours later)
Bill Pierce had been setting up the stage for the robbery, his gunmen and gun-women patrolling the streets. The ammunition and guns had been stockpiled in a large crate hidden somewhere close to Beecher's Hope, or what remained of it anyway. The prizefighter had a firm belief that Jack Marston could lead his men and women to victory in battle against The BlackJacks and the lawmen, they had all been through so much and the gang had only gotten even larger with an extreme amount of men and women.
A loud horn was heard from afar and Bill Pierce saw the ferry pulling towards the docks thanks to his binoculars. It was time to prepare.
From within the ferry, Jack Marston followed a guard towards the safe. The Marston leader wore a disguise of a guard, Rebecca McIntyre followed along with a revolver in her hand. Once they entered the safe room, Jack Marston placed the muzzle of the pistol against the back of the guard's head.
"Open them up, all of them." Jack commanded in a calm yet serious tone, pulling back the hammer of the pistol and wrapping his finger around the trigger. The guard laughed and took the butt of his rifle, jerking it back to slam into the gut of the Marston leader. He let out a grunt and fell to one knee, but Rebecca quickly shot the guard into the small of his back.
The guard fell to the ground, he wasn't dead as he turned around with the rifle tight in his grasp. Jack downed the guard with a shot to the jaw, tearing right through the head. Jack growled in pain as he rose back up to his feet, he looked over his shoulder to see the door wide open.
"Close it." Jack ordered to his girlfriend in Rebecca McIntyre, she did as was told, closing the iron door with a loud bang. It wasn't locked at all, so they weren't out of the woods just yet.
Using the dead eye ability, Jack and Rebecca opened up the locks by firing at them to open up the safes. Loads of money, precisely two thousand dollars worth of money in total. The two leaders loaded up the bags of money, suddenly the iron door opened and a guard was there.
The guard saw the bandanas covering up the faces of Jack Marston and Rebecca McIntyre, the guard instantly took aim at Jack with his rifle. Suddenly, the head of the guard practically exploded when two loud booms rang out, his head was blown up via a double barreled shotgun from Dred Jackson. This caused the entire capacity within the ferry to panic, civilians who went along for the ride began to scream and stumble over themselves. Guards and lawmen within the ferry instantly knew something had gone bad.
Fireworks launched high into the air from the ferry, it was to alert the people of Blackwater in which were oblivious to what was going on within the boat. A few lawmen took this differently and instantly made a break for the boat, pistols tight in their hands.
Whistles were blowing from these deputies, alarming the citizens of Blackwater but chaos didn't ensue just yet. Two deputies approached the door of the ferry until it swung open with a bang, taking both of them out and knocking them to the ground. Scrambling and fleeing civilians trampled the deputies to death as they made frantic moves to escape the Marston Gang as gunfire could be heard from within.
Jack Marston and Rebecca McIntrye emerged in the crowd of fleeing individuals with Dred Jackson and Tonya opening fire at the coming lawmen behind them. Now the civilians of Blackwater began to scramble out in the streets as they saw the chaos exploding out from the ferry.
Douglas Mulligan and Nicholas Lanza saw what was going on from the rooftops, fifteen of the BlackJacks were also camping out on the tops of buildings. The leader of them all, Douglas, seen Jack amongst the crowd as he saw Rebecca McIntyre alongside him with two black people downing lawmen in which chased them.
"Down there, Lanza! Marston!" Douglas shouted as he took aim on the outlaw, carcano rifle at the ready. He took in a deep breath, getting calm and focused on the target carrying the bag full of money. Lanza looked down to see them too, and he took aim on Rebecca McIntyre.
Jack Marston and his girlfriend tried to remain hidden but when a civilian suddenly collapsed thanks to a bullet hole in the skull, the leader looked up to see a man in all black clothing and a paragon town hat standing on the rooftops in a crouched stance.
"BlackJacks on the rooftops, move quickly and get low!" Jack shouted as another civilian dropped dead next to him, then all of the BlackJacks in which had tagged along to kill the Marstons emerged from cover with carcano rifles.
"Son of a bitch, look at how many of them there are!" Rebecca screamed as she tucked her head as she ran, Jack glanced up to see multiple more dark clothed figures on the rooftops of Blackwater.
"You die today, Marston!" Douglas screamed as he took aim at the head of Jack, the bullet just missed him.
"Shit." Jack cursed under his breath, his life was damn near taken right then and there. His gang wasn't out of the woods yet as he saw a gunman from his half of the gang collapse thanks to Nicholas Lanza.
"Ladies and gentlemen, get to the alleyways!" The Marston Boy screamed orders, he and Rebecca heading straight for a back alley. Several groups of people flooded out from the ferry and into the streets, some heading for the alleyways and some going around the buildings and into the town. It looked like a warzone.
Jack took cover behind a crate with Rebecca as a few more gunmen and gun-women entered the alley with them, there were three large crates at where they stood.
"We need to stack these up, move quickly."
The group of men and women formed a stack of crates, thick with ammunition for the BlackJacks and that is what made them heavy. They stacked up the crates similar to how one would make a castle of tiny paper cups, this would provide a small amount of shelter for the heads of Jack and Rebecca.
"Cover us." Jack ordered the ten gun wielding men and women of his gang, he and Rebecca got underneath the crate stack and began to make plans.
"We don't have any horses, we left them back in Saint Denis. So what we're gonna have to do is to hold out until Bill Pierce's men and women get here, the cavalry should be here soon." Jack planned.
"What of the money, darling?" Rebecca asked her boyfriend for the two thousand dollars they had in their bags.
"Me and you are going to make our way up to the Blackwater church and hide inside of it, they've been doing some remodeling."
Suddenly, Alonzo, formerly known as the leader of the mexican rebels, rushed in. Taking a stick of dynamite, and hurling it high into the air with a grunt of effort. Three of the fifteen BlackJack gunmen aimed down upon them from the rooftop, Alonzo used the deadeye ability and shot the stick of dynamite right when the fingers of the BlackJack men were wrapped around their rifles.
The stick of dynamite burst, killing the three BlackJacks instantly, sending them flying from where they stood. The Marston leaders rushed towards the Blackwater train station as quickly as they could from where they were, it wasn't far, but the process of going there was dangerous.
"Stick to the alleyways, stay as far away from the streets as we can until we are forced to run for it." Jack said calmly as Rebecca McIntyre, Alonzo, and ten of the Marston Gang running with them in between alleys.
As they ran in the tight spaces, they heard gunshots and gunfire exploding and ringing out all over the place. The noises bouncing off the walls, making them think that they were getting shot at. Eventually they would reach a stopping point, they saw multiple lawmen rush past them without being noticed.
"Go!" Jack shouted as he made a break for it out of the alleyway and into the street, Rebecca followed after him. Alonzo followed third with the ten others, a whistle was heard blowing and Jack instantly turned around to see two lawmen riding up towards them on horseback.
Rebecca looked down the street heading towards the Flat Iron Lake to see three more lawmen coming, Alonzo turned his back to see almost all of the fifteen BlackJacks aiming down at them. Jack Marston managed to take out the two lawmen with his deadeye and Rebecca was able to down the three other lawmen with her deadeye.
Alonzo had deadeye but it wouldn't last as long as Jack or Rebecca's, the ten other Marstons had no deadeye at all. They aimed up at the BlackJacks and fired at the fifteen of them, two of them were taken out but then around four of the Marstons fell, Douglas Mulligan and Nicholas Lanza made their way over to the rooftop in which the thirteen BlackJack snipers stood at.
Jack looked in the distance to his right and could see a train coming in from afar, he instantly rushed towards the train tracks, the timing would have to be perfect and it would be a gutsy move. Rebecca seemed to be moving faster than Jack as she rushed past him, getting closer to the train tracks as the train itself got closer.
Jack slowed down but continued running for a moment to look over his shoulder, several lawmen were rushing from all the way at the end of the street from all angles. The poor gunmen and gun-women would all be captured or killed, including Alonzo due to the overwhelming amounts of lawmen.
One of the lawmen in which was riding towards Jack and his crew was none other than Archer Fordham himself, eyes narrowed in pure hatred for the Marston Boy. Four more of the Marstons collapsed dead and three more fell dead on top of the roof from the BlackJacks
Time seemed to slow down for Alonzo as lawmen closed in and more of the Marstons fell dead on the ground with a thud. It was just Alonzo and two other Marston gunmen standing tall with Jack Marston and Rebecca McIntyre fleeing the scene. The three stood against ten BlackJacks, as they began to reload, Alonzo used his deadeye, taking aim on as many as he could.
There was one more BlackJack, or there was one mar man dressed in dark clothing. This man wore a tophat and had a curled mustache. It was the Strange Man that Douglas had continued to see, except Douglas couldn't see him this time around.
The Strange Man looked down at his wrist, there seemed to be a watch on it and then Douglas Mulligan emerged out from behind him with a carcano rifle, putting down Alonzo with a shot to the head. The two Marston gunmen were dropped dead within seconds thanks to the rushing lawmen, ten more gunmen remained in the town in which they had come along for the ferry trip. There were several more of them back at Cochinay.
Jack continued to run, getting closer and closer to the train tracks, but at the same time, the train was getting closer at a more rapid rate. After a few more seconds passed, Rebecca managed to dart over the tracks and make it to the other side while Jack would seem to be unlucky.
The outlaw had to dig in deep, he let out a scream of effort as he ran as fast as he could. Almost as if he received a speed boost, the train kept coming and coming as he got closer to the tracks. His heart was racing in his chest and Rebecca screamed as the lawmen were riding up behind him on horseback.
Finally, Jack was within five feet and the train right about to pass Jack by. It would be a huge risk, he decided to lunge over the tracks for a huge leap. Sending himself flying, it was way too close to call. As soon as Jack's boots made it to the other side of the track and went over, the train roared by. If Jack was just a second too late, he would've been killed for sure.
The rushing train provided a barrier between the lawmen on the other side and for Jack and Rebecca. The outlaw still had to get out of there as fast as he could, he pointed up the hill towards the church as the train began to slow down. The two leaders rushed up the hill as fast as they could, but Jack quickly forgot about two people and that came to his senses. Dred Jackson and Tonya…
Jack's eyes widened when he came to that realization, he turned towards the train and from his position on the hill, he could see several lawmen getting downed by several Marston Gang members. Dred and Tonya absolutely unloading on the lawmen, Archer Fordham was quick to retreat. Dred mowed down the lawmen in which surrounded the remaining gunmen of the Marston gang, Tonya took out the BlackJacks in which stood on the rooftops.
Jack Marston and Rebecca McIntyre stood impressed at what they were seeing. However things went too quiet, other than the sounds of doors slamming and regular civilians panicking. The Marstons took aim up at Douglas Mulligan and Nicholas Lanza, causing them to back up to get away from the guns of the Marston gunmen.
The strange thing was, the BlackJack leaders didn't seem to be afraid or nervous in terms of the way they stepped back and surrendered. Their facial expressions seemed to show a rather arrogant grin, as if they knew something that the Marston gunmen and Dred Jackson along with Tonya, didn't know.
The sounds of horses neighing could be heard faintly, but they got even louder than before. Silhouettes emerged from around the buildings of Blackwater and from lands away from the town, these were deputies from the Heartlands, from the town of Valentine and Strawberry. The question still remained, how in the world did they arrive so quickly? It was almost as if this was a set up.
Jack and Rebecca appeared shocked as the deputies rushed towards the spot in which the gunmen and the two other leaders stood. Dred and Tonya seemed to appear frantic as they bolted towards the alleyways in attempt to escape the lawmen, the gunmen managed to take down a few of them but eventually the numbers game caught up with them.
Once the gunmen knew they had no chance, they took a mad dash towards the alleyways along with Dred and Tonya. Jack knew that they wouldn't last long, he had to call upon the help of Bill Pierce. The problem was, he was expecting Bill and his gunmen to be within the city, however, he was nowhere to be seen.
Rebecca looked over at Jack to see a defeated look in his eyes, this lowered her confidence way down. The head leader of the Marston Gang didn't know what to do, at this point, there was nowhere to run. This would be the end of what was once a booming gang.
Jack and Rebecca took the bags of money, and marched right back into the town of Blackwater. Eventually Archer Fordham appeared out from a back alley with Dred Jackson and Tonya beaten and bloody with all twenty of the gunmen as well. A satisfied smile crossed the lips of Archer, the Marstons were surrendering.
Every member in the Marston Gang was forced onto their knees before Archer, several outlaws already brought down to their knees and they hadn't even completed a successful bank robbery yet. The head of the FBI in West Elizabeth backed up, ordering the cavalry from Valentine and Strawberry to line up with their guns trained on these outlaws.
"Any last words?" Archer asked, as if he didn't want this to be a tragic ending, he wanted it quick and merciless.
"Outlaws to the end, you will regret this, and you'll be lucky if you get me here." Jack said sternly, staring a hole right through Archer Fordham.
"Very well, boys, you know what to d-" From out of nowhere, Archer collapsed dead with a wound in between his eyes. The cavalry panicked and darted away from the gunmen along with Jack and Rebecca, the gunmen took out revolvers from their holsters, it was their secondary weapon.
To keep the police cavalry at bay, the gunmen and Jack Marston, along with Rebecca McIntyre, unloaded their cattleman revolvers upon them. Jack got up to his feet and looked over the door, from the hill leading down into Blackwater, rushed Bill Pierce and his half of the gang. The horses jumped in between the train carts and emerged on the other side. Thirty riders with only one of them on the backs of the horses, the cavalry knew that they couldn't do anything against the overwhelming numbers now.
The Marston Gang fled the scene with several corpses lying scattered around Blackwater. Some in the streets, some in the alleyways. Their first robbery a successful one, now Bill Pierce and his half of the gang was free to come to Cochinay. Celebration was a guarantee!
A/N: Hello to all! As you know, I have seemed to discontinue this story for a bit but now I hope to get back into the swing of things around here. I have been busy with my Custom Monsterverse series and I've been so engrossed with that series that I've lost care for this story. Thankfully, I am starting to get more and more ideas for this story and a drive to continue it. Sorry for how long the wait was for this new chapter, feel free to leave a review on how you are liking or disliking the story so far and perhaps you can PM me for some extra ideas. Have a nice day or night and stay safe wherever you are!