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Chapter 39
Sean MacGuire couldn't believe what he had just done.
In his mind, it had all but been confirmed that Arthur was a rat. Bill Williamson ain't just shown it, but he heard Arthur's last words confessing that he wanted to leave the gang before they confronted him. It had been a difficult thing to wrap his brain around, to know that all of Dutch's seemingly paranoid statements had been confirmed.
However, as the confrontation escalated and Bill became more agitated, Sean had time to think about it.
And finally, when he aimed his gun at Arthur, he realized that he didn't have it within him to pull the trigger. And now, although Arthur may be a rat, Sean had just followed him for what he had done, another traitor.
Watching as Lenny and Charles gripped the body of the dead man and found an appropriate burial stone somewhere in the forest. Seeing that Sean had killed him, he stood there through the small ceremony, hoping that the big man would be able to build that gang he'd always talked about wherever he ended up.
Sean stood a few points beyond Lenny and Charles, his shoulders hunched as he stared at the ground, his mind a tumultuous storm of guilt and confusion. The horses shifted restlessly nearby. Smart creatures. Smarter than Sean...
Lenny watched Sean's conflicted visage with a mixture of concern and understanding. He had seen the torment in Sean's eyes after the confrontation with Bill, and he knew that the Irishman was grappling with the gravity of what he had done.
But without them, Bill might have whacked someone, likely Arthur.
Lenny leaned against Maggie, his arms crossed over his chest, as he spoke softly, "Sean, you did what you had to do. Bill wasn't giving you a choice."
Sean scoffed, his voice bitter. "I had a choice, Lenny. I chose to pull that trigger. I chose to kill a brother."
"And do you think you could have shot the gun out of his hand? Bill wasn't thinking straight. All he'd seen was a traitor. You would have to live with guilt of killing Arthur." Lenny answered.
Charles approached and gripped Sean's arms tightly. "Sean, Bill was out of control. He was going to kill Arthur, and you stopped him. You did the right thing."
Sean looked up at Charles, his eyes filled with anguish. "But I betrayed Dutch. I went against everything he stands for. I went against the gang."
Lenny scoffed. "What gang? The gang that continues to become about Dutch everyday? The gang that tries to kill each other?"
"The gang that took us all in! He saw something special in each of us!" Sean growled.
Lenny shook his head, his voice firm. "Sean, you've got to see the truth. Dutch ain't the man he used to be. He's probably never been that man to begin with. He's letting his paranoia and his greed cloud his judgment. And Micah... Micah is just taking advantage of that, twisting Dutch's mind for his own gain."
Sean ran a hand through his hair, his gaze fixed as he allowed himself to breathe. He just couldn't hate Lenny, not ever... "But Dutch took us in, Lenny. He gave us a family, a purpose. We owe him everything."
Charles sighed, his expression solemn. "We owe him our loyalty, Sean, but not blind obedience. Not when he's leading us down a path where we're going to get hung by the law or killed because of the likes of Micah. Look at what happened in Blackwater. We can't let folks continue to die on us. There ain't no winning with the law."
Sean recoiled at the mention of Blackwater. He remembered when everything went to shit instantly. He remembered the cold look on Dutch's face as he ordered for them to move.
"But... but that was different," Sean stammered, trying to reconcile the memories with the image of Dutch he held in his mind. "That was a mistake, a terrible mistake."
Lenny shook his head. "It wasn't a mistake, Sean. It was a choice. A choice that Dutch made, and a choice that Micah was all too happy to carry out. And it's not the only choice they've made that has led us down like this."
"But... but what am I supposed to do?" Sean asked, his voice filled with desperation. "I can't just turn my back on Dutch, on the gang. I can't just walk away from all of that."
"Why not? You've done it before."
"It will be..."
"Permanent. Ah, yes, but at least you wouldn't have to die because of Dutch, Micah, and their plans. Sean, you have to realize this. If two people who have been raised by Dutch are questioning him, what do you think that means? You've said it yourself many times. Micah is a snake. He will tear apart everything we've built, only for the goddamn money." Lenny emphasized strongly.
"I should have died instead."
"Sean..." Charles tried.
"You should have killed me for what I done."
"Sean..."
"It would have been what I-"
"SEAN!" Charles barked, and the Irishman realized he had never heard the man yell at him before, even when frustrated and agitated. "You don't have to turn your back on the gang, Sean. You just have to stand up for what's right. You have to be true to your own code, to your own conscience. That's what makes you a good man, Sean. That's what makes you one of us."
The Irish breathed deeply. "I... I don't know what to do," Sean stammered, fearful. "I don't know where to go from here."
Lenny leaned in. "You don't have to have all the answers, Sean. You just have to take the first step. You have to choose to stand up for what's right, even if it means going against Dutch, against the gang. And you have to trust that, together, we can find a way forward."
Sean looked up at them, gripping his forehead.
"I... I'll think about it," Sean answered, his teeth clenched.
Charles squeezed his shoulder before releasing him. "We don't expect it to be easy, Sean. But we do expect you to be true to yourself, to your own code. And whatever you choose, we'll be here to support you, every step of the way."
Lenny - good kid - nodded in agreement. "We're in this together, Sean. Whatever happens, we'll face it as a family. You should talk to Dutch."
The world around them was dark. The air engulfed them completely. Sean leaned to a quiet corner.
"Thank you, Sean," a familiar voice said, gripping his shoulder.
"Why?" Sean asked, his anger coming back as he turned to face the man. "Why do you want to leave the gang? You've been loyal to him for twenty years! Why do all this? You are a goddamn idiot, Arthur Morgan! The worst type! I should have shot you and Big Man over there! Did the wolves that Scarface met got your brains?! They were saying you changed up in them mountains! Dutch's going to skin you alive for this!"
Arthur didn't seem to be insulted or terrified. All he did was snort. "If you're done..."
"No, I'm not done! You're going to get yourself killed, Arthur!" Sean shouted.
Arthur sighed. "I've thought 'bout things for a while, Sean, and I realized that there's always a new plan when it comes to Dutch."
"We need to make more cash!" Sean snapped. Goddamn him!
"I thought that at first," Arthur responded. "But then I looked back at Blackwater and reflected on how everything went to shit."
"Dutch has a plan-!"
"Heard that one before," Arthur remarked sarcastically. "I always thought it was that way. Unless Dutch suddenly went mad for what he did without me and Hosea around, I believe that Dutch wants to do anything without our approval. We're a family. We're supposed to look out for one another."
"You're his goddamn son!" Sean exclaimed. "You're supposed to respect-"
"And where is that respect going to go?" Arthur inquired pointedly. "Get more folks killed, Sean. And he didn't even try to come save you."
"It all went to shit so fast..." Sean went silent. "Do you think someone was talking back in Blackwater?"
"I don't know," Arthur shrugged. "But think 'bout it, Sean. Think 'bout how Micah want to snatch Dutch's stash. Did you ever notice that his main motivation is to get the cash, lose some burdening chicks, camp, and all that romanticize bullshit? Yet, Dutch has it all hidden, full of high ideas about how we will all have a peaceful life with that cash. The more it burns Micah's fantasy of getting his hands on it, the more tips he gives 'bout where the gang might get ambushed, making Dutch disillusioned and more susceptible to Micah's words."
The more Sean'd thought 'bout it, the more it seemed to make sense. Micah always looked after himself. Sean met plenty of folks like that evasive bastard.
"And the other day, Kieran heard Micah and Bill talking 'bout trying to kill me."
"I thought John was-"
Arthur enforced with a shake of the head. "No, Marston wasn't lying."
The Irishman gasped and recoiled. The light in his eyes suddenly died, murdered by the gravity of Arthur's words. And it all made sense. He'd just played in that bastard's game and almost participated in the death of a brother. To know that Micah played him for a fool angered Sean to no end. And now that he had time to think 'bout it, he wondered 'bout all the time Javier and Bill spent around the oily bastard.
"Arthur-" For the first time in years, Sean MacGuire was speechless.
Arthur closed his eyes and sighed. "Micah is a rat. He will sell us out."
"Do you think he works with the O'Driscolls?"
"I don't know," Arthur shrugged. "Ain't above him. But I can see it. He should have never been allowed in."
The revelation came quicker than the bullet to Bill's head.
"I don't like the road but how-"
"Let me explain. He urged Dutch to do the Blackwater robbery and convinced him to kill Heidi McCourt, likely to increase Dutch's bounty. He pretends to admire Dutch as if he were a god; he never asks questions, he always does what he's told. Not out of loyalty. He keeps mentioning the money from Blackwater and tries to convince us to get it. He always insults and antagonizes all of us except Dutch. Every job we do with him ends up with a pile of dead bodies. He hardly if ever donates to the camp."
Sean couldn't argue any longer. His face twisted to all stages of denial, melting straight into anger and hatred. "That... I'll kill him!"
Arthur tightened his fists. "We'll get around to that, Sean. Trust me. There's nothing I want more than to make Micah pay for what he's done."
"But surely Dutch would notice," Sean responded, losing his vigor.
"I suspect that Dutch doesn't see it because of all the ego-stroking," Arthur replied sadly. "Retreating to them mountains was the right thing to do, but once at Horseshoe Overlook, we should have stayed low and not continued to press our luck. The O'Driscoll attack were out of Dutch's hands, but it doesn't mean that we should have robbed that bank in Valentine or committed that train robbery. We're making too many enemies, and if we want an out without the law swinging us, we have to be smarter 'bout this."
Sean didn't know what to feel 'bout his words. He'd liked to believe that Arthur was telling the truth, but the only problem was that it was with Dutch. The Irishman was loyal to both men. Had that been why he hadn't been able to kill Arthur? By pretending to do so, had that been why Sean placed Bill's guard down and finally brought an end to the big man when he wasn't looking?
"But to stand against Dutch instead of trying to reason with him... it doesn't make much sense, Arthur!" Sean exclaimed. "All those years had to mean something—loyalty." He waved his fist.
"It doesn't," Arthur acknowledged, "but I think that's why it's time to start new and fresh; this time with a bigger community. I want to guarantee that we're all safe. We ain't need one more score. We'll find a different way to move on as soon as possible before the Pinkertons catch up."
Sean's teeth was giving his lower lip a nasty beating. "And how are ya certain you're going to survive, Arthur? Ya think ya can go off on your own without Dutch-?"
"Dutch enjoys the shooting," Arthur said. "Times are changing. We have to change with them. We can't do this anymore, but I understand if you don't want to stand against Dutch. I'll give you a choice here and now."
Sean straightened, eyes darting.
"But before you choose, you should know he never cared 'bout any of us. I learned that the hard way."
"What is it?" Sean inquired.
"Go back to camp, take Karen and leave. Go anywhere ya want. Live the lives you deserve. Don't look back, no matter what."
Sean was already shaking his head. "No, I can't. I can't leave y... leave D..."
"You already killed Bill, Sean, and we both know you ain't a good liar," Arthur mumbled solemnly. "You're going to crack to him eventually and he ain't gonna let you go for what you did. Dutch raised us to be killers. I knew him for twenty years. I've seen folks fall before. Hell, I-I did some of them myself."
Fear entered Sean's heart.
He could understand it, too.
Dutch raised Arthur of all people the longest. He'd watched him grow from the age of fifteen, finding him when he was a lost boy. The two were close before whatever happened at Blackwater. For Arthur of all folks to be judging him, it unnerved him. And if Dutch fell to someone who he'd listened to in six months, it wasn't a good sign. He'd wanted to be loyal to Dutch but he couldn't find himself listening to someone like Micah, who didn't stop spreading lies.
"What can we do, Arthur?" Sean sighed, knowing that this wasn't going to end well.