Chapter 39: The Pinkertons’ Empty Badge
Arthur had gradually come to accept Davey’s new situation—and surprisingly, he didn’t feel the slightest bit jealous.
On the contrary, he was genuinely happy for him.
Still, he had countless questions he wanted to ask.
How had Davey managed all this?
If his plan really worked, could every member of the gang find a life of freedom here?
And most of all—why hadn’t the Pinkerton Detective Agency come after him?
Mac didn’t bother thinking that far ahead.
To him, all that mattered was that he and Davey were brothers, and life was finally good.
No more running from place to place.
Now he could drink, bathe, and enjoy a cup of hot coffee every day—and that was enough for him.
As for everything else? Oh, that was Davey’s problem.
Lenny wasn’t particularly sharp, but even he could tell Davey had become someone important—important enough that even the sheriff counted him as a friend.
Even if they broke the law now, the police wouldn’t dare touch them.
It was just... too damn cool.
Knock, knock, knock!
Someone rapped on the door.
“Excuse me, are Mr. Arthur, Mr. Mac, and Mr. Lenny here?”
“Mr. Callander asked me to deliver a message. He’s waiting for you at Wells Restaurant for lunch.”
Mac called back, “Alright, tell him we got the message. We’ll head over soon.”
When the messenger left, Mac turned to Arthur.
“If there’s something you want to know, just ask Davey yourself. I don’t have the full picture either.”
Arthur nodded. “Alright, Mac. I’ll talk to him.”
...
By the time Arthur and the others arrived at Wells Restaurant, it was nearly eleven.
They’d woken up late, still groggy from the previous night’s drinking.
Inside, Davey was sitting with Donal, discussing plans for the coming days.
When he saw Arthur and the others, he waved a hand. “You can take care of the rest.”
Donal nodded. “Understood, Mr. Callander.”
He excused himself and left.
Mac approached the table. “Davey, who was that guy? Never seen him before.”
Davey chuckled. “Just an interesting business partner. You’ll get to know him soon enough.”
Then he turned to Arthur and Lenny. “You must be starving after drinking half the night away. I ordered some steaks for you—they should be out any minute.”
Mac sat beside Davey, while Arthur and Lenny took the seats across from them at the four-person table.
“Davey,” Arthur began, “Mac told me a bit about what you’ve been doing. I didn’t expect things to change this much.”
“I’ve got to ask—did the Pinkerton detectives really never come after you?”
“You know as well as I do, they’re the biggest threat we’ve got right now.”
Davey didn’t dodge the question. He leaned back slightly and began to explain.
“Arthur, the Pinkerton Detective Agency has a big reputation, but six years ago, the United States passed the Anti-Pinkerton Act. Since then, the agency lost its right to enforce the law.”
“These days, the Pinkertons are in a pretty awkward spot. It’s complicated, but you can think of them as a massive bounty hunter organization now.”
“Each state in the U.S. has its own laws, and their wanted lists aren’t connected. So while we’re wanted men in West Elizabeth, we’re not outlaws here in New Hanover.”
“So if the Pinkertons tried to arrest us in New Hanover, that’d be considered overstepping federal authority. Because of what happened years ago, every labor union in the country despises them.”
“If they crossed that line, they’d be sued by the unions—and that’d make things even worse for them than they already are.”
“But Dutch robbed Cornwall’s train, and Cornwall’s a powerful tycoon with plenty of friends in high places. He’s been pulling strings to have us declared wanted in New Hanover.”
“If he succeeds, the Pinkertons could come here legally under the excuse of ‘assisting law enforcement.’”
“Problem is, things aren’t going smoothly for him. The Blackwater ferry incident dragged in some important people, and because of that political mess, our wanted status has been put on hold.”
“Unless the Pinkertons secretly capture us and haul us back to West Elizabeth without anyone finding out…”
“They’ve got no real excuse to touch us.”
Arthur listened intently, his brow furrowed.
...
In the original story, high-ranking Pinkerton agent Andrew Milton had discovered the Van der Linde Gang’s camp location early on.
His first appearance had been near Horseshoe Overlook, by the river where Arthur went fishing with young Jack.
At that distance, with the resources they had, the Pinkertons could have easily found and surrounded the gang’s camp if they’d wanted to.
But in the story, Milton always seemed to give the gang “one more chance,” telling Arthur that if he handed over Dutch, he’d let the others go.
Of course, that was nothing but a bluff.
In truth, the Pinkertons lacked the authority to act in New Hanover. Milton could threaten them all he wanted, but without legal power, that was all it was—just talk.
“Without any real authority, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was all bark and no bite.”
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