Chapter 136: The Most Successful Heist
Who would've thought that after the Blackwater incident, the most successful heist would end up being one planned by Karen?
After meeting with Davey, Arthur hurried back to camp.
He actually wanted to tell Dutch about the intel Davey had given him on the O’Driscoll Gang.
But Dutch was out, working with Hosea on their plan involving the two major families.
Karen, Bill, and Lenny, once they learned Davey had given his approval, were eager to hit the Valentine Bank.
Arthur had no choice but to go with them.
The trip from Clemens Point back to Valentine took three days. During those three days, Bill kept grumbling about the train robbery and the mess they'd made by crossing Cornwall.
By now, the whole gang understood that Hosea and Davey had been right from the start.
Robbing the train had only brought trouble, and as for profit—none of them had seen any yet.
The Valentine Bank heist went smoothly. Arthur had actually wanted to check in on John, Uncle, Abigail, and little Jack beforehand.
But Bill objected loudly, insisting that the bank job came first and that making side trips was just asking for trouble.
Arthur could only give in.
During the job, Arthur showed off a new skill: cracking safes.
He’d learned the technique from Hosea.
Afterward, the four of them made a clean escape from Valentine.
“Whoa, Arthur, I saw it—that was a hell of a pile of cash. Fuck, you better not be hiding any for yourself.”
“I’ll admit, you carried a lot of weight this time—especially with that lockpicking.
The bank guy didn’t even know the safe’s combination. If we’d used dynamite, it would've made way too much noise.”
“Alright, Arthur, I guess you can take an extra two hundred bucks.”
Bill laughed, completely delighted. Splitting the loot was his favorite part.
“I’m not hiding anything, Bill. Alright, let’s see how much we’ve actually got.”
In a spot outside town, the four of them stopped to divide the money.
There were scattered tens, twenties, even some hundred-dollar bills.
Once they counted everything, the total came to just over $20,000.
By their usual rules, half went to the gang.
The remaining $14,000 was split evenly among the four, giving each man $2,500.
The extra $250 went to Arthur.
In those days, $20,000 was an enormous sum. Even Arthur’s share—over two thousand—was nothing to sneeze at.
Back at camp, Bill immediately started bragging, claiming he'd been the one calling the shots during the heist.
Dutch clearly hadn’t expected the robbery to go so smoothly, nor for it to bring in such a haul.
But he didn’t seem overly impressed. Even $20,000 wasn’t enough to buy the whole gang a life of freedom.
Their plan involving the gold from the two major families still had to continue.
Still, the heist had lifted everyone’s spirits, and Dutch decided to buy more supplies for camp to make life a bit more comfortable.
He assigned Pearson and Micah to handle the purchasing.
...
When Arthur finally saw Dutch, he quickly delivered the intel Davey had given him.
“Dutch, Davey passed along some information—something about the O’Driscoll Gang.
North of Rhodes, near Mattock Pond, more than sixty O’Driscoll members have gathered. It’s their temporary camp.
This is a real chance. Even if Colm isn’t there, we can take out a good number of them.”
Arthur was excited. The recent streak of success had lifted his spirits in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.
With money in his pocket, the future finally seemed bright.
And getting a shot at their sworn enemies? All the better.
But when Dutch heard the intel, he didn’t react the way Arthur expected. He wasn’t excited, and he didn’t call the men together.
“Listen, Arthur. I hate Colm. I think about taking him down every minute of every day.
But going after him now isn’t the right move. It would make a huge scene, and it would mess with our plans.”
“Hosea and I have been busy working the plan. We need to stay quiet—not draw eyes our way.
A gang shootout would blow our cover.”
Hosea nodded. “Arthur, Dutch is right. No one wants Colm dead more than he does, but we can’t spook them.
I’ve been getting along well with Mrs. Braithwaite lately—we’ve even been playing cards.
She seems to want our help with something, maybe taking on the Gray family.”
“Everything is moving according to plan, Arthur. Until we get that gold, we have to keep our heads down.”
Hearing both Dutch and Hosea say the same thing, Arthur could only answer:
“Alright. If that’s how you both see it, then let those bastards enjoy their freedom a little longer.”
Author's Note
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