Always Was The Better Shot

Chapter 7

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Ashe yelled at the small crowd of people that filled the hangar. "I'm only going to go over this plan once, so if you're drunk, you better sober the hell up!" Most of the crew members gathered in front of her were deep in their mugs when Ashe called this meeting, evidence of that shown in their bleary eyes or obvious stupor. Yet while a sober group would be more likely to listen and pay attention, there was no time to lose. "Okay people, I'm going to get straight to the point. For those of you that didn't know, the Diamondbacks stole The Western Sunrise from us this afternoon, and now we've gotta steal it back." There was a great deal of murmuring at that, with the occasional "hell yeah" or "thought the Diamondbacks were gone" floating out from the crowd.

"The Diamondbacks are planning on selling that bomb to Talon, which means they're going to provide a lot of security on their investment," Ashe yelled over the hubbub of the crew. "And as much as I hate to admit it, the Diamondbacks are better armed than us and have more manpower than we do, probably thanks to Talon. Now, this might seem like an impossible job to pull, but Jesse McCree," Ashe snapped her fingers at him, motioning for her to move up next to him, "Who has fought Talon many times in the past, has offered his services in getting back our goods." Someone started clapping at that, only to realize that they were the only one doing so and quickly stopped. Ashe put her hands on her hips, glaring out at the crowd from atop the raised platform she was standing on. She took another deep breath before resuming her speech. "Now, McCree's help won't do us any good if we don't have the information we need. We gotta find out where the Diamondbacks are based, when they're shipping The Western Sunrise to Talon, and where they're going to ship it too. My gut tells me that Talon won't risk picking up the merchandise themselves, which means that the Diamondbacks are gonna do the delivery job."

She paused for a moment, looking each Deadlock Rebel in the eye, which proved to be a great feat given how drunk some of them were. "With that being said, we're going to divide up into teams and start getting shit done. Since the Diamondbacks just stole The Western Sunrise, they're probably planning on collecting the payment sometime this week. Lauren!" Ashe pointed at the soberest-looking crew member, a blonde woman who looked like she was in her early thirties lounging by the doorway to the sleeping quarters. "Your job is to find out when that's gonna happen, and where they're goin'. Marco isn't the type to travel far from home, which means his base is somewhere nearby The Rusty Railway. Find it, and get the intel I need."

"You've got it boss," replied Lauren, already moving through the crowd, trying to find the most stealthy members among it.

"Travis, I need you to go through our arsenal. Make sure we have enough ammo and explosives to pull off the job. If we don't have enough, build or buy more."

"No problem, Ashe," replied a short-haired, dark-skinned man in the middle of the crowd, his face lost in thought as he mentally went through the Deadlock weapons inventory.

"The rest of you are going to get ready for the heist. Make sure you're ready at any time should we get word that they're moving the merch. This means no drinking or going out to visit town." This was met with a unanimous groan from the assembled gang members. "Shut it!" Ashe yelled at them, a steely glint in her eyes. The room instantly went quiet. "Now, is there anything you feel we need to know right now, McCree?" Ashe said, turning to look at the cowboy standing a ways away from her.

Cassidy took the cigar he'd been smoking out of his mouth, flicking it to get some ash off the end. "The only thing y'all need to know right now is that the Diamondbacks are tough. Some of you may have been a part of them at one point, so you might think you know how tough they are." He replaced the cigar in his mouth and folded his arms. "Whatever you're thinkin', you're wrong. Those thugs are better armed and better equipped than any gang out here besides you guys. And they have the backing of the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world. Make sure you guys are prepared for hell, and then some." He looked over at Ashe, fixing her with a serious gaze. "Anything else you guys need to know, I'll go over when we plan the heist."

Ashe nodded at him and then turned back to her crew. "Alright everyone," she said, clapping her hands loudly, which made the more drunk gang members wince, "Get yourselves some rest and some hangover tonic. We're going to get this plan in motion at sunrise!" With that, the crew stumbled to their feet and walked (or swayed in the case of the drunkest members) towards their sleeping quarters or other housing they had. Cassidy stubbed out his cigar and flicked it away, walking over to Ashe. She rubbed her face tiredly before looking up at him. "There are so many things that can go wrong with this heist, even before it starts," she said, turning her gaze to the open hangar doors, out into the night sky.

"No different from any other job we pulled, Ashe. You don't need to worry so much," Cassidy replied, putting his hands on his belt and following her gaze to the starlight sky outside.

"It's my job to worry, especially since this is my plan," Ashe countered, her eyebrows scrunched up. "Besides, there's a lot more riding on this job than any other we've ever pulled. It's not just a score that we could lose, this heist is a way to get rid of the Diamondbacks for good. From what you've told me, Talon won't be kind to the Diamondbacks if they appear to break their deal." Cassidy nodded in agreement, still staring outside. "If we can pull off this job, we get rid of the Diamondbacks and get back one of the most advanced weapons on the planet. It'll be the biggest payout the Deadlock Rebels have ever gotten."

Cassidy sighed, turning to face Ashe. "I know most people think money buys happiness but is money really the most important thing to you?"

Ashe returned his gaze, looking in full in the face. "What can I say? Diamonds are a girl's best friend, and I like to keep my friends close and in large supply," she smirked, before walking to a stairway at the back of the room. B.O.B. moved from where he was standing behind Ashe and lumbered off to the room he was in earlier, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Where are you goin' Ashe?" Cassidy called, following after her.

"My room, farm boy. I intend to follow my own orders and get a good night's rest," she called over her shoulder, climbing the steps to where her room apparently was.

"Oh." Cassidy pulled up short, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

Ashe reached the top of the stairs and opened a door. She looked back at Cassidy, an unreadable expression on her face. "I suggest you do the same," she said, walking through the doorway and closing the door behind her. Cassidy turned around, walking further into the hangar. After a while, he found a nice empty spot nearby a stack of crates. While he was used to sleeping out in the open with the stars to keep him company, sleeping outside in the Deadlock's base would be like sleeping on the street in the middle of a city. No need for bedding in here, Cassidy was used to a hard floor to sleep on. He normally slept like a rock on, well, rocks. The cowboy sat down, groaning as the pains of his earlier ventures awoke in his body, before leaning back against the crates, and tilting his hat down to shade his eyes. He'd be comfortable enough in here, although he didn't trust the gang members who were sleeping in their rooms nearby. Best to sleep with one eye open, just in case.