DUNDEE // John Shelby

Chapter Six

Polly, as I learned, poured me a cup of tea as Thomas sat across from me at the table. He already had a cigarette in his mouth. I feel bad for the woman that marries him. Their house is going to smell like absolute shit.

"So Campbell wants the guns and Kimber wants the business? What fucking idiots." Thomas said as he exhaled smoke into my face.

"Why don't I take care of Kimber and you take care of Campbell? I think that would be the wisest decision." Thomas scoffed, standing up and looking down at me.

"Youre not serious," he told me.

"Do you have kerosine?" I stood up and faced him. He laughed while inhaling his cigarette.

"You want to burn down his house, yeah? Do you know how obvious it would be that is was us?" he started yelling in my face.

"If you wern't such a fucking dumbass, you would let me finish!" i paused, looking at him. I dont think a woman has ever raised their voice at him. "We would go to his stables. He keeps lights next to the hay, so we would blame it on that. Its logical."

He pondered. He knew i was right, but telling a girl she was right was like getting his dick removed for him.

"She's right, Tommy. That could work." Arthur butted in. He was such a cutie, always agreeing with me.

"Arthur, what would fucking happen when they saw the flame and her running? They would fucking shoot her dead." Tommy pointed to me and Arthur with a cigarette in his hand.

"Get me Hydroperoxide and a box of matches and I can get you a transparent flame, Thomas. We would have twenty minutes before the barn blows." I told him. He furrowed his eyebrows at me and rolled his eyes.

"Theres no such thing as a transparent fucking flame, Dundee." he said. Polly had come back with the peroxide, setting it down in front of me. She was such a sweet woman. Always helping me. Tommy's match box was right in front of me, so I opened it and took a few out, breaking the tips off it.

I pulled a plate out from the cabinet and scraped off the red stuff on the match. I crushed it up into a powder before pouring the peroxide on it. It made a slight sizzling sound before it lit up on a clear flame. I felt it on my face.

"Put your hand above the plate, Thomas." I told him. He scoffed as he looked to his two brothers before walking over to the plate and hovering his hand over the plate. Not even two seconds later he pulled back, rubbing his palm out of pain. John laughed and Arthur smiled. Thomas was just infuriating.

I ran the plate under water so the fire could go out. Thomas was looking down and thinking. I put the plate back in the cabinet when it was dry, then Thomas had made his decision.

"Alright. We'll send a message to Kimber. John, since you can put up with her, go with her." He pointed to John and I with a cigarette finger. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't pleased that he didn't take part in this. He's such an entitled brat.

--

I spend the day rubbing red stuff off two boxes of matches. It's actually fairly hard when you're focused on it. We didn't need any wood splinters. That would screw up the whole point of the barn.

Before I knew it, it was beginning to fall dark. I had about 8 ounces of the red stuff and a bottle of peroxide. Polly had made me a sandwich a couple of hours ago since we would be missing dinner. She was such a nice person. I love her.

Arthur told us to be careful, which we agreed to do. He didn't really have that much to do with me. It was understandable, but a little harsh. Like, i am risking my life to help you fuckers with something i dont even want to do. Maybe I was seeking power in this city.