Chapter 33: Micah Bell’s Arrest
Around dusk, Arthur, Bill, Charles, and Kieran Duffy returned to camp.
They hadn’t encountered Colm O’Driscoll this time, but the Six-Point Cabin was one of Colm’s key hideouts, and losing it was a major blow to the O’Driscoll Gang.
Arthur greeted Davey briefly before heading over to Dutch to report.
After finishing, he asked, “Dutch, have you found a buyer for those bonds we took?”
Arthur was still hung up on the bond issue, maybe hoping to prove to Davey that Dutch’s call had been the right one.
But Dutch’s answer left him a bit disappointed. “Not yet, but Hosea’s working on it.”
Arthur fell silent for a moment, then asked, “So when are we heading west?”
Dutch replied, “Soon, maybe… I don’t know.”
There was a trace of melancholy on Dutch’s face as he walked over and sat down.
“It feels like… the times have changed. The whole world has changed.”
Unlike in the game of Davey’s past life, Dutch and the others didn’t just sit around camp all day. They often went out—to gather intel, have a drink, or make deals.
Recently, Dutch and Hosea had been busy looking for someone rich enough to buy those bonds.
But bonds worth tens of thousands of dollars weren’t something you could sell easily—and everything Davey had said about the Pinkertons was now coming true.
As Dutch spoke, he realized deep down that he already regretted robbing that train.
Arthur didn’t say it outright, just glanced toward Davey before muttering, “People like us… the world doesn’t need us anymore. Now we’re the ones being hunted.”
Dutch replied, “We’re not like them. We’re smarter. Only the weakest fools serve the government.”
It was half a reassurance to Arthur and half to himself.
Arthur chuckled. “Let’s hope so, Dutch.”
Just then, Lenny came charging into camp on horseback, shouting,
“They caught Micah Bell!”
His voice drew everyone’s attention. Even though Davey already knew what was going on, he walked over too.
“What happened, Lenny?”
Dutch stepped forward to ask.
“They caught Micah Bell! He was arrested for killing someone—back in Strawberry… he…” Lenny was flustered, stumbling over his words.
Dutch put a hand on his shoulder. “Lenny, my boy, calm down. It’s alright. Take a breath.”
Lenny inhaled deeply, finally steadying himself.
“They almost hanged me, Dutch! They’ve got Micah locked up in the Strawberry jail. They’re saying he’s going to hang.”
Before Dutch could respond, Arthur nodded slightly. “Let’s hope so.”
Dutch shot him a reproachful look. “Arthur.”
Arthur didn’t back down. “What? That fool brought it on himself. You know how I feel about him, Dutch.”
Dutch said, “You’re only looking at his rough exterior—you don’t see his heart. He’s a good man.”
Arthur scoffed. “No. I’m not saving that idiot.”
Dutch pleaded, “I can’t go. My face is posted all over West Elizabeth. I’m asking you, Arthur—if it were you, he’d go for you.”
Arthur hesitated at the word “asking.” “I doubt he would… but fine. Even if I say yes, you really expect me to go alone?”
Dutch turned toward Davey and Mac. “Davey, Mac!”
Davey threw up his hands. “Dutch, you’ve lost your damn mind. I’d rather put a bullet in that rat, and now you want me to save him?”
Dutch replied, “Listen, Davey. I know you’ve got your issues with Micah Bell, but what happened in Blackwater wasn’t his fault.”
“I’ll admit robbing that train was reckless, but Micah’s one of us now. He was out gathering intel for the gang when he got caught.”
Davey hadn’t expected Dutch to admit fault for the train job—not even a little. That wasn’t like him.
In truth, Dutch was still a capable leader. With time to reflect—and after failing to sell the bonds—he had started to see things more clearly.
Davey’s growing distance had something to do with it too. Everyone could see that Davey had lost faith in him, and Dutch didn’t want the gang to fall apart.
He wasn’t yet the raving madman he would become.
After a moment’s thought, Davey said, “Fine. For Arthur’s sake.”
He was planning to head to Strawberry anyway—not only because of the general store owner’s moonshine sideline but also because of his friendship with Arthur.
The Callander brothers had always gotten along well with him—or rather, Arthur was well liked by almost everyone in the gang.
He had helped Davey plenty of times, even before the man inside him had changed.
Maybe it was the original bond, or maybe just Davey’s lingering fondness for Arthur from the game.
Of course, Davey would never admit that he also intended to use this opportunity to weaken Strawberry’s police presence and pave the way for his future plans there.
As for Micah Bell—this wasn’t the time to kill him.
His role was to push Dutch toward madness, to set the stage for the Van der Linde Gang’s collapse.
Without Micah, Davey honestly wasn’t sure he’d be able to draw anyone away from the gang—including Arthur.
A Van der Linde Gang that was too united wasn’t part of Davey’s plan.
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.