Chapter 79: Rescuing Sean MacGuire
Blackwater.
Milton and Ross stood watching as the captured criminal, Sean MacGuire, was escorted out of the jail.
“Mr. Milton, I don’t understand. This is a perfect opportunity. Those outlaws will definitely try to rescue their comrade.”
“If we set up an ambush now, we could deal them a heavy blow.”
“Why should we let such a once-in-a-lifetime chance slip away?”
Frustration showed on Ross’s face. In his view, with Sean being transferred to a federal prison, the Van der Linde Gang would almost certainly strike during transport. Once Sean reached the federal facility, things would become far more complicated.
So if they set up an ambush—even if they couldn’t wipe the gang out entirely—they could at least inflict serious losses.
But his superior, and former mentor, Mr. Milton, had already rejected the idea.
“Ross, there are times when we can’t just look at the surface. We have to think about what lies beneath,” Milton said.
“Perhaps you’re right—perhaps we could take this chance to crush the Van der Linde Gang. But then what?”
“The gang isn’t that big of a concern for us—for Pinkerton. At a time like this, we need to keep a low profile.”
“Think about it, Ross. Even with men like Cornwall backing us, our authority to enforce the law in New Hanover still hasn’t been approved. Do you know what that means?”
“It means there are too many people unhappy with the Pinkerton Detective Agency—and that makes our position even more dangerous.”
“We’re not the lawmen we used to be. Even bounty hunters don’t bother showing us respect anymore.”
“So what good would it do to take down the Van der Linde Gang? It would just end up as another headline in the papers.”
“And that would only make those who fear us even more wary.”
“A living Van der Linde Gang is far more useful to us than a dead one.”
“If there are no beasts left, Ross, would hunters still be respected?”
Milton spoke slowly, his weathered eyes glinting with quiet wisdom.
Conflict, he knew, was simply politics by another name. As a veteran of Pinkerton, Milton had seen the agency’s rise to glory and its slow decline. He understood things that Ross could not yet see.
Catching outlaws wasn’t Pinkerton’s true purpose. Reclaiming their authority to enforce the law—that was what really mattered. The more chaos the Van der Linde Gang caused, the more it served their interests.
Ross lowered his head slightly. “Mr. Milton, I was too naïve. I thought stopping crime was all that mattered.”
Milton sighed. “I used to think the same, Ross. But things rarely go the way we imagine.”
“Valentine’s Davey wasn’t wrong—Pinkerton ultimately serves the rich, not justice.”
“I know your ideals, Ross. I had them once too. But you won’t realize those ambitions here at Pinkerton.”
“The federal government is preparing to form a new law enforcement agency to deal with the troubles in the West—but that will take time.”
“At the top, it all comes down to political struggle. Maybe if the Donkey Party takes power, there’ll be a chance. But those stubborn Elephant Party men— they’d rather keep things just as they are.”
“When that day comes, Ross, leave Pinkerton. With your talent and experience, you’ll have every opportunity to make your mark.”
The leadership of the federation was divided between two major parties:
“The progressive Democratic Party—the so-called ‘Donkey Party’—and the conservative Republican Party, known as the ‘Elephant Party.’”
The Donkey Party pushed for reform, especially in the West, where they advocated establishing a new federal agency to crack down on lawlessness.
The Elephant Party opposed change, preferring to preserve the status quo.
From now until 1913, however, the Elephant Party would remain in power.
In the history of my previous life, the Federal Bureau of Investigation wasn’t founded until 1935. But in this parallel world, perhaps because of the continued chaos of the Western frontier, the Bureau seemed destined to appear much earlier.
Most of its agents would come from the old Pinkerton ranks, and the first director of its Western Division would be none other than Edgar Ross.
That, of course, belonged to a later chapter in the game’s story.
For now, Ross had no idea that he would one day become a key figure in the future Bureau.
Milton, meanwhile, was fond of his subordinate. In Ross, he saw the reflection of his younger self.
Their relationship went beyond superior and subordinate—it was closer to that of mentor and student.
Milton often used moments like this to guide him.
As the two men talked, Sean MacGuire was being loaded onto a bounty hunters’ boat.
...Not far away, on a cliff overlooking the scene, Arthur, Charles, Javier, and Micah watched everything through their binoculars.
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.