Miss Morgan

Six

November 1886
-John-

It's been a year and a half since I joined the Van Der Linde gang. I've really found my place with these folks and I've come along way from street rat robbing farmers fighting to survive, to well... a street rat kid robbing rich bastards to give poor folks a chance at a good life. You could consider that growth.

I've also gotten particularly closer with Ivy. She's my best friend. Being the two youngest members of the Van Der Linde gang gives us a lot to relate to I guess. If I'm being honest, I might even have a bit of a crush on her. I don't tell her that though. I'd hate to make things awkward in camp if she doesn't feel the same way. So instead we work jobs together, robbing rich bastards and going hunting and fishing. We do pretty much everything together.

Arthur started seeing some girl named Mary in town, he only just introduced her to us and they've been attached at the hip ever since. I guess they'd been seeing each other long before he brought her around us though. I'm sure it's not an easy thing to tell a girl like her, that you're part of a gang of outlaws, but she seems to have taken it well enough. And by that I mean, she's still talking to him and didn't run screaming.

Ivy comes running towards me with a small piece of paper in her hand. "I got somethin'!" A grin plastered on her face tells me it's bigger than the stage coach robberies and pocket picking we've spent the last year working.

"What is it?" I ask her.

"Shush, keep your voice down. I don't want Arthur stealing our thunder on this one. I worked hard getting the details and I'll be damned if I let him take the credit for it." She whispers now like she didn't just run over here waving the lead around like a flag.

I laugh and lower my voice to a whisper. "Well, are you gonna tell me then or are ya cuttin' me out of this deal too?"

"John." She smirks and hands me the piece of paper. "We're gonna hit a train, just you and me."

Just the two of us taking on a train by ourselves? Does she have a death wish? "Are you insane? How did you even get this?"

"Just the two of us, us kids, we can take it no problem, but we gotta go tonight!" She grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet.

"Alright alright, I'm coming." I laugh as we saddle up our horses. I finally got a horse of my own, a black Hungarian Halfbred I named Coal. We mount up and kick the horses to a gallop out of camp as the sun dips below the horizon and the cold air nips at my face and sends a chill through my thick jacket.

We reach the railroad as snowflakes begin floating down through the air. "What's your plan here?" I question Ivy.

"It'll be dark enough they won't see us." She explains. "We're gonna ride alongside the train and jump on at the back. You keep a lookout while I get into the baggage car and grab what I can."

"This is a bad idea." I shake my head.

"Have a little faith, John. This will be a good take, and when it is I'll buy you a pack of cigarettes."

"You already owe me a pack of cigarettes 'cause ya steal mine all the time!" I shake my head.

"Quit whining." She smiles at me. "We can do this. Put your mask on." She pulls a bandana over her nose and mouth and only moments later we hear the rumble of the train approaching.

We wait in the darkness for the engineer to pass before we kick our horses into a gallop alongside the last flatcar of the train and we jump on, hitting the floor with a thud.

"Let's go." Ivy crouches behind a crate with a throwing knife in her right hand. She waits for her chance and flings the knife into the skull of the only guard between us and the baggage car.