Like a Cat {Arthur Morgan x OC}

6. Mistake

A few weeks have passed since Irene became a part of the gang.
She adjusted to the new people around her and is great friends with Jack.
On some occasions she does supply runs with Sadie or does dirty work with the men.
Irene turned out to be quite useful. Not only is she a perfect tracker but also great at stealth missions.
Her feline personality never fails to lift the mood as well.

Irene polishes her riffle as Arthur makes his way over to her.
"Irene", He says to catch her attention.
"You busy?" Irene looks down at her riffle and back up at Arthur. "Depends."
He smiles.
"Dutch needs us for a mission." She simply nods and gets up from her mattress. "I'll get my things."
Arthur nods and jogs to the other men waiting by the horses.
"She comin", Dutch asks as he mounts his steed. Right after asking Irene comes along ready for the mission.

All of them mount their horses and follow after Dutch.
The ride doesn't take long and soon they arrive at a small cottage in the woods not far from the trail.

"One of those O'Driscolls is hiding in there. I want him dead, understand?!" As he finishes his sentence his stern look fixates on Irene.
Dutch still doesn't trust her. Her arrival was to sudden for him and everything about her annoyed him.
Arthur's constant conversations about her made it even worse.

"Irene, you stay behind. Let the men handle this." She raises an eyebrow in response.
"I can take it", She says confidently and all the men except for Dutch nod with a wide grin.
"Orders are orders, woman."
Irene rolls her eyes as a response.
"Fine. You go get 'em."
The others run off and slowly sneak near the house. Arthur stayed behind for a second to comfort Irene. "It'll be alright. You have our backs."
With that he also runs to the front lines.

With a heavy sigh Irene pulls out her riffle and keeps notice of her surroundings.
This could be a trap and she is responsible for all the men out there. If she misses one clue they're done for.

She watches as the crew sneaks through the bushes and trees all with masks on their faces.
A sigh leaves her lips. She knows that Dutch doesn't trust her. He made it clear multiple times, not only with actions but also words.
She doesn't mind, she's used to people not trusting her.

With her riffle ready and loaded she takes another look around.
Suddenly she sees a silhouette in the trees.
She squints her eyes to get a better look and her eyes widen as she realizes.
It's multiple men with guns. It's a trap
"Arthur-"
Then a hard object hits her head and her vision gets blurry.
The last thing she can hear are screams and gunshots. Then everything goes black.

~

To his luck Arthur noticed Irene's call. He immediately knows. "It's a trap", He yells and shortly after shots are fired out of the forest right at them.
"Shit! We fell right for it", Dutch yells. "You did", Arthur yells as he reloads his gun.
"Stupid woman! She should help us!"
The men seek a place for cover and immediately jump in as they find it.
Arthur grabs Dutch by the collar of his shirt.
"Don't you dare talk about her like that. Because of her we realized this is a trap."
Dutch groans in annoyance. "If one of us dies, I swear to god, Arthur."

They continue to shoot the men hiding in the forest. With every shot they lessen in numbers.
Still no sign of Irene.

Then the shots stop.
"Did we get them", Bill asks as his grip around his riffle tightens.
"Think so." Arthur takes a look outside of their cover.
"No shots. We got 'em."
The men step out of their cover with a sigh of relief. "We're alive", Charles says with a smile.
"Hold it."
Arthur has spotted another silhouette coming out of the woods.
He puts up his hand as a sign for the others to stop in their tracks.

"You bastards", A man yells.
He drags the unconscious body of Irene out into the light and holds a gun to her head.
"What are you trying to accomplish", Dutch asks with a raised eyebrow.
"I-If you don't stop terrorizing us I will shoot her", The man yells.
Dutch laughs and crosses his arms in front of his chest.
"Do it then. She is of no value to me."
That earns him a death stare from Arthur.
Arthur decides to take the situation into his own hands.

"Alright, just calm down now, son." 
Arthur drops his gun onto the ground. "You want us to leave you alone? We can make that arrangement but it should go both ways, boy."
The young man is visibly trembling and the fear in his eyes is all too familiar.
"Drop the gun and we'll leave peacefully", Arthur says to try to convince the man further.
He is still visibly unsure of everything. "Come on now, boy. Drop the gun."
Arthur dares to take a step towards the scared man. "Hold it right there", He immediately yells.
"I-I'll shoot her!"
Arthur lets out another sigh.
"I'm gettin' impatient, boy!"

Then the man drops his gun out of pure fear. He puts his hands up and Irene's body falls down onto the ground.
"See? You're alright. We won't hurt ya", Arthur reassures the man.
This only lasts a few seconds.
Dutch has pulled out his pistol and shoots the man right in the heart.

"Was that really necessary", Arthur yells. "He's one of the O'Driscolls, Arthur. There's no mercy for them. Grab the woman. We're heading back."

Arthur picks up Irene's unconscious body and carries her to the horses where he puts her on his.
He does not forget to tie her steed to his before riding back to camp.
He placed Irene in front of him so he can sit behind her and keep her from falling off.
It's a complicated ride but he feels better having her in his arms.

As they reach camp Arthur carries Irene into her tent.
He notices blood in her black hair and immediately asks for supplies to treat it.
Abigail helps him in the process.

"Poor gal. Good thing she made it out alive", She says as she sows the cut on Irene's head.
"Yeah. Dutch is angry."
"Again? Irene has helped our camp a lot. He's so stubborn." Both laugh. "Tell me about it."
Arthur looks towards Dutch's tent.
"He's been acting stranger than usual. And he's always strange", Arthur says as he looks back at Irene.
She looks so peaceful.
"Arthur, I may not be that educated but every fool can see that you have a thing for her."

Arthur looks up at Abigail slightly shocked. "You're wrong, Abigail."
"Am I? You brought her here and you were the one to always look after her."
Arthur scratches his cheek in embarrassment. "You know that I'm not cut out for love. Not after what happened last time." Abigail pats Arthur's shoulder.
"She's your chance to set things right."

Abigail leaves Arthur with those words and thoughts behind.

She's right but at the same time she isn't.
Arthur could use this chance but he's scared. What if it happens again?

Suddenly he hears Irene murmuring. Her eyes slightly open and immediately land on him. "Arthur?"
"Hey, you alright?" Irene slowly sits up and holds her head. "I guess." Her head hurts.
"What happened", She proceeds to asks. "They knocked you out. Held you at gunpoint too." Irene looks down in disappointment.
"I'm sorry", She says. "It's all my fault."
"Now don't be too hard on yourself. We made it out alive and ultimately did what we came for."
Irene looks up at Arthur with a smile.
"Thanks. I still feel bad though."
"As you should."

Both look up at the third voice.
It's Dutch.

"I'm banning you from this camp, Irene."