Bloody Retribution

It had been a few days since the stagecoach robbery with Micah, and it had ended up being a pretty profitable robbery, despite a few bumps. They had ended up having to ditch the carriage, as it was all but destroyed by the O'Driscolls ambush, much to Micah's annoyance. He had held his own in the ensuing gunfight, but holding his own was never the problem. Still, Arthur supposed he couldn't be blamed for the robbery going sideways, quite literally.

Since he got back to the camp, Micah had been acting rather strangely. He just sat in silence most of the time, sulking in solitude. Most just left him be, as did Arthur. If he was being honest, he was just happy Micah wasn't being as annoying as he usually was. Finally, however, Micah spoke up once again, and ti was Arthur he came to.

"Hey, Morgan, talk to you for a second?" Micah asked, approaching his fellow outlaw near the campfire.

No one else was around, and Morgan had been using this time to write in his journal. Now he would be forced to deal with Micah's presence. Arthur could have told him hit the bricks, but he decided to at least hear him out. Micah wasn't being rude yet, so he didn't feel the need to be either.

"Yeah, sure I guess," Morgan agreed, for he was just about done anyhow. "Whaddya want Micah?" he asked with a rather impatient sounding tone that he didn't care to mask. Micah was lucky that Arthur was even giving him the time of day, and Micah knew that himself.

Micah took a seat on the crate across from Arthur, leaning over the campfire, the flames from below showing a clear, heated reflection in his eyes as he began to speak.

"I'm going after my guns, Arthur. Tonight. I think Strawberry has cooled down enough to sneak in quick and head back out."

"You're still on about that?"

"Of course I am. I told you, they're precious to me."

Arthur shook his head, "So go then. No one's stoping you, certainly not me."

"Why do you think I'm here, Morgan?" Micah asked, feeling he was playing dumb. "To give you a fucking update on what's going on in my life? I want you to come along with me. Watch my back in case things go sideways like last time."

"And why in the hell would I do a thing like that?"

"Cause I'll pay you," Micah proposed. "I'll pay good. You're good in a fight, Morgan, and at the moment, there's not much here to choose from. Bill's a halfwit, and Lenny's just a kid."

"Lenny would never go with you again, not after last time," Arthur pointed out.

"Which is why I'm asking you," Micah said, for Arthur had only proved his point.

Arthur thought it over for a second. "How much money?"

"I've got fifty dollars I can spare," Micah said, the amount surprising Arthur a bit. "If that's not enough, I got this pocket watch if you want it. I know for a fact it's worth something."

Arthur eyed Micah curiously, for he was offering a fair bit of a profit for a job that didn't seem too complicated. He must have known Arthur wouldn't have wanted to come unless he made it worth his while.

"Why do these guns mean so damn much to you? Why not just buy some new guns? You clearly got the money."

"That ain't none of your concern, Morgan, and I'm fairly certain you don't actually care."

Micah was mostly right about that, as Arthur was more curious than anything else.

"Listen, the money's good. We'll get my guns and get out quick, alright? After I deal with the backstabbing bastard who took them, anyway."

"You gonna kill'em?"

"Yeah, that's what I planned," Micah said honestly. "What do you care? This guy ain't no innocent, he's a crook, just like me or you."

"I don't, really," Arthur said back. "Just wanted to make sure what I was walking into this time."

"Well I sure as hell won't throw him a fucking party, that's for sure."

"Just as long as you don't turn it into a fucking massacre," Arthur made clear.

"So, you're in then?" Micah asked, giving a slight, sly grin.

"Yeah, sure. I ain't got nothing' better to do at the moment, and I could use the money."

"That's what I like to hear. I wanna leave as soon as possible, so if you need to get ready, then make it fast."

"Nah," Arthur said, standing up. "I got everything I need."

The ride to Strawberry had been a mostly silent one, as Micah's mind seemed set on one thing and one thing only. Arthur was perfectly content to enjoy the quiet, especially while in Micah's presence. He could see the fire in Micah's eyes, and he seriously hoped he wouldn't live to regret this decision. Hopefully, Micah would be able to keep his head again, and there would be little or no complications. Arthur wasn't holding his breath, however. They left their horses just outside town and snuck in during the night, wanting to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Thankfully, the house they were looking for as close to the edge of town. They went around the back of the house, with Arthur wielding a double-barrel shotgun. They both wore masks, even though Micah fully expected, and wanted Skinny to know who had come knocking.

"Come on, pick that damn lock Morgan," Micah whispered, hugging the wall closely.

"Give me a second," Arthur said back, crouching to work on the door.

When Arthur heard the lock click, he looked up, nodding to Micah.

"We're in."

"Alright, good. Let's make this fast," Micah said, waiting for Arthur to go in first, since he was closer.

Arthur put his hand on the knob, slowly turning it. He pushed on the door slightly, letting it creak open just a bit to peek through. Micah jumped in a fight as a shotgun blast tore through the door, and Arthur had suddenly hit the ground. Apparently Skinny had noticed his lock being picked.

"Jesus Christ!" he shouted, ducking away from the door.

"You alright?" Micah asked, not seeing any blood whatsoever.

"I'm fine! Bastard nearly took my head off," Arthur replied, still getting himself together.

Micah turned and burst through the door, revolver in hand. "You always were a shitty shot you weak fuck!" he yelled, aiming his pistol at the shadowy figure, who was struggling to reload their shotgun.

Micah fired several shots into the room in short succession, and was more than a little surprised to hear a rather feminine shriek as one of the bullets hit their mark. The figure toppled over onto the floor, groaning as they bled all over the floor.

"What the hell?" Micah asked himself, as Arthur came into the room, looking equally as confused. "That's not Skinny," Micah said, taking a lantern that was laid on the table and bringing it up so he could see just who he had shot.

The lantern revealed a red-headed woman, lying on the floor, a hateful glare in her eye as she stared the two men down.

"Who the hell is this Micah?" Arthur asked, for he had said nothing about a woman.

"Maddie," Micah answered, coming closer to the fallen woman. "Skinny's squeeze. He uses her in his schemes. Partner in crime," Micah spat, raising his revolver to Maddie's head. "Where's Skinny, Maddie? Where're my guns?"

"Damn you, Micah Bell," Maddie said, trying to crawl away. "Damn you to Hell."

Micah just gave a slight snicker. "Damn us both, darlin'," Micah replied, before pulling the trigger again, shooting Maddie in the face.

"Fucking Christ," Arthur shook his head, as Maddie slumped to the floor dead, giving Micah a hard look.

"What? Bitch tried to kill us. Hell, I was doing her a favor at that point," Micah reasoned.

"Don't give me that, you wanted to shoot her."

"Maybe I did. Maybe the whore had it comin'. Doesn't matter. She's dead. We're not. Now get to searching. I don't think Skinny's here," Micah said, stepping over Maddie's dead body to search the house for his personal revolvers.

"If he were, I think we'd know it by now," Arthur said back, following after him. "We need to make this fast, folks are gonna be comin' after all that noise."

The two outlaws began to loot the house as quick as they could, taking any valuables as well as Micah's revolvers. After a few minutes, Micah finally found what he was looking for, hidden away in a lockbox under the bed, after he had all but torn the room apart."

"Morgan! Found 'em!" Micah announced, eagerly taking back both his prized possessions.

"Why the hell was he keeping them locked away, ya think? Why did he even want them?"

"Cause Skinny's a sneaky fuckin' fence, that's why, and they're worth a pretty penny," Micah said back, brushing past Arthur and heading towards the exit. "Come on, we don't wanna stick around this hellhole."

Arthur still didn't know the whole story as to what exactly had happened that night in Strawberry. It was clear that Micah and Skinny had some falling out, and somehow that involved some O'Driscolls. He wasn't about to ask now, and Micah probably wouldn't tell him much anyway. Arthur hurried after Micah, eager to leave the scene of a murder before the law showed up, which he imagined wouldn't be too much longer, unless they were utterly incompetent.

Micah and Arthur snuck out the same way they came out of, again stepping over the body of the slain Maddie. They darted from the property, just as the Sherriff and his deputies were approaching the front of the house to inspect the scene. Micah and Arthur arrived at their horses hidden in the trees, seemingly scot-free.

"And what are you gonna do about Skinny? He's not gonna take kindly to this. You killed his woman, and he'll know it was you."

"That's not your problem, is it?" Micah shot back. "I'll have to deal with him later. I still owe that son of a bitch a bullet."

"If he comes after you, that means he's coming after us, and then it will be my problem, Micah. The last thing I want is this asshole coming after you and killin' someone in camp. If something happens, this is all on you."

"I suppose we'll burn that bridge when we come to it, Morgan," Micah said as he climbed onto his horse, growing irritated at Arthur's constant complaining. "You worry too much. It went well, and you got your money. Besides, in the way of enemies, we've got a hell of a lot worse to worry about than Skinny fuckin' Ferguson."

"You better be right, Micah, or it's your ass," Arthur said back, climbing up on his own horse.

"He's a fence, Morgan. Not a gunman. Besides, he's got no idea where we're at. You got nothing to be afraid of."

As they rode off back towards New Hanover, Arthur couldn't help but think he hadn't seen the last of this little conflict between Micah and Skinny. As much as he hated to admit it, he was mixed up in this too. If Skinny came looking for Micah and someone ended up getting hurt, Arthur would be more pissed at himself than Micah. He knew the man was no Leviticus Cornwall or Agent Milton, but fences have connections in the underworld. No matter what, he didn't think he'd be revisiting Strawberry any time soon, and Micah sure as hell wasn't either. For now, they could add Skinny Ferguson to their list of loose ends they'd have to tie up eventually.