No Time To Die- ARTHURMORGAN x O/C

part 13- Thorn Brothers

Claudia leaves Rhodes making her way back to camp, she sees Hosea and Dutch sat by the table together. She dismounts her horse and walks slowly over to them.
Dutch looks up to see her hands and trousers covered in blood. "Claudia are you hurt?" He asks in worry, him and Hosea get up rushing towards her.
"I..It was a trap" she stutters looking down at her bloody hands.
"Whose blood is this?" Hosea asks as he places his hand on her shoulder.
"It was a trap, they ambushed us" she mumbles trying to wipe the blood off her hands and trousers.
"Claudia look at me" Dutch places his hand on her cheek. "You are in shock, whose blood is this..".
"It's not fucking getting off" She panics wiping her red stained hands against her top. "S..Sean's" Her eyes start tearing up remembering what happened. "It's Sean's, we couldn't save him".
Camp goes silent except from Karen's gasps. Karen and Sean were really close, you could say they were a thing but she would always say that he only loved her when he was drunk. Claudia's eyes meet Karen's, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" She cries, Dutch leads Claudia away to his tent from the rest of camp.
"Miss Grimshaw" Dutch calls out. "Take Claudia here and get her cleaned up". He sits back down realising the news he just heard. Claudia didn't know why she was in shock, she has always seen blood but not the blood of a friend. Miss Grimshaw takes her to the edge of the lake to wash the blood off her clothes and hands.
"Stay here darling, I'll get some soap" Susan walks off and leaves Claudia standing by the shore. She stands there in the cold breeze waiting, until she hears the sound of Braithwaite boys. Claudia turns her head around to see 3 men surrounding Jack. "Shit" She whispers to herself pulling her revolver from her holster. She watches them lure him with some candy to their horses. She raises her gun in the air aiming at the man nearest to Jack.
"Drop the gun now" A man whispers behind her, she feels the touch of a gun at the back of her head. She drops the gun to the floor and holds her hands up in surrender.  "What's your name?" He asks.
"Elenor Jenkins" She whispers back lying.
"That's wrong, I know exactly who you are" He kicks the back of one of her knees making her kneel.
"Why did you ask then?" Claudia bites back.
"I've had enough" He snarls swinging his gun back and hitting the back of Claudia's head with it.

Claudia's eyes reopen frantically remembering what happened. She looks around seeing that she's in a basement but Jack is nowhere to be seen. The door creeps open as two men walk in, both hovering over Claudia as her arms are tied up against the post above her head. James and Wyatt Thorn. "It is lovely to see you Miss Jenkins or should I say Mrs Thorn" James snarls lighting the cigar hanging from his mouth.
"We weren't legally married, you stupid prick" Claudia says.
"Anyway, we've been trying to find you for a while.." Wyatt smiles. Claudia could tell that James was the nastiest out of the two, he is like Jullien. "You killed our brother".
"I didn't, the fucker shot himself" She replies back. James walks over to her unbuttoning her shirt.
"Look don't you want to be loyal to your late husband.." He whispers pointing out to the scarred initials on her chest, his face so close to Claudia's that she could smell the alcohol in his breath. He takes the cigar out of his mouth and presses it hard against her chest as he cries. "and be the polite, quiet girl you used to be".
"Go to hell" Claudia spits in his face, he steps away wiping the spit off his cheek. James raises his hand and hits her across the cheek.
"The Braithwaite's did say that she was a feisty one and the kid that they took as well.." Wyatt grabs Claudia's chin and wipes the blood off her mouth. "he is safe with another man in Saint Denis".
"Sort her out will you" James laughs to another man from upstairs. The two men walk away locking the hatch door behind them, leaving Claudia in the cold dampen room with another man ready to hurt her. She knows that the gang won't even think to save her as they will for Jack, but she hopes that boy is safe.

Arthur enters camp seeing Abigail yelling towards Dutch.
"Calm down, everyone just relax" Dutch says, he spots Arthur walking towards them. "Arthur, have you seen that boy, Jack?".
"No, where's Claud.."
"Where is my goddamn son?.." Abigail yells from rushing out of her tent. "Where is he? Where's my son? They took him didn't they, they took my son".
"Who took him?"Arthur asks, looking towards Hosea.
"We think the Braithwaite woman took him, Kieran saw a couple of fellers sound like Braithwaite boys" Hosea says filling in Arthur with the information. Arthur looks around camp seeing no sight of Claudia anywhere but her gun left on the floor near the water.
"We will find him and we will bring him back to you, and we will kill any fool that has the temerity to touch one hair on that boy's head.." Dutch insist assuring Abigail. "Abigail you have my word". Arthur pulls Dutch to the side from everyone else.
"Dutch, did Claudia come back?" Arthur asks still looking around for her.
"She was with Miss Grimshaw, anyway we have a bigger problem then that" Dutch tries to walk anyway but Arthur stops him.
"Dutch.." Arthur mutters.
"Miss Grimshaw, when was the last time you saw Claudia?" Dutch yells across camp to her.
"Well I took her to get herself cleaned up but she disappeared, I thought she went off with you" Miss Grimshaw yelled back.
"That bitch, that bitch took my son" Abigail mutters in storming over to Dutch.
"She wouldn't do a thing like that, her gun was left on the floor" Arthur argued back.
"Arthur's right, she's probably ran off again.." Dutch says "now I will get that boy back so help me God".
"Dutch we heard about Jack, you need some extra guns?" Bill comes rushing over with Lenny and Charles.
"Ye why not? Micah, Kieran anyone strange turns up you kill 'em" Dutch orders as he mounts his horse. All of them mount up, Arthur still worrying about Claudia. Finally arrive at the Braithwaite manor, "Get down here now! You inbred trash".
"What the hell do you want?" One of the Braithwaite boys yell from the house.
"We've come for the boy" Dutch says as Hosea calms down John.
"Well you shouldn't have messed with our business now, should you?" They snap back being their guns to their hands.
"Whatever complaint, you have with us alleged or otherwise, that is a young boy. That is not the way you do things, hand him over" Dutch's voice gets angrier as the time goes by.
"What about that girl, you've seem to forgot about her.." One of the boys laugh "She wouldn't shut up but in the end we made her quiet".
"Claudia" Dutch whispers to himself seeing Arthur staring right at him from the corner of his eye.
"Anyway, get the hell off our land". More hired guns walk out of the house and even more on the balcony above.
"If you ain't going to be civilised about this" Dutch snarls then takes out his gun and starts shouting then one by one. Bullets go whizzing past as take down the guns.
Arthur, John, Hosea and Dutch go into the house as the others stay outside.
"Jack" John yells trying to find his son.
"Claud" Arthur yells as well.
"Arthur, get up and give us a hand" Arthur hears Dutch's voice from upstairs. Arthur makes his way up to Dutch to find him and Hosea trying to get into a room but the doors won't budge.
"Open the goddamn door" Dutch yells trying to push it one more time. Arthur rushes out to John trying to shoot down as much hired guns as possible.
"Looks like they're running, now let's find a way into that room" Arthur states finishing off the shooting.
"Come on this must be it.." John shouts as barges the door but it won't open. "I can't see a goddamn thing". The two of them finally get through meeting some Braithwaite's guarding the closet behind them. Arthur swiftly shoots them both down as Dutch and Hosea enter the room making their way to the closet. Dutch kicks down the door grabbing Catherine Braithwaite by her wrist.
"You want me to kill you too, old woman" Dutch yells dragging her out of the room.
"You bastards" She cries.
"Where the boy and girl?" Hosea questions.
"We have lived in this house for  120 years, we never had no problems except for yankees..".
"Where's the boy and girl?.." Hosea repeats. "Who took them?".
"You killed my sons" She yells as Dutch raises his gun at her.
"Oh, and I will surely kill the rest of them unless you start talking" Dutch antagonises resting his gun on her neck.
"Oh I know your type, common scum" Catherine spits.
"Where is the boy and my daughter" Dutch snarls. Hosea and Arthur give a look to each other knowing that Dutch has finally excepted it. "Alright we get her out of here".
"What about them?" Arthur asks pointing to the injured Braithwaite boy on the floor. Dutch shoots him dead as Cathrine screams in agony of the sight of her sons. He drags her down the stairs to outside as Arthur burns the house down. After she finally gave in.
"My sons gave him to Angelo Bronte, so my guess is Saint Denis or on a boat to Italy" She weeps.
"What about the girl?" Arthur yells making his way to the circle of the gang surrounding the woman on the floor.
"We sold her to the Thorn brothers for a lot of money, they were eager to have her" She explains.
"Let's go" Dutch yells leaving the woman on the ground.
"What are we going to do with her?" Arthur says.
"Leave her" Dutch orders mounting his horse.
"I told you she was crazy" Hosea says as they all leave the old hag with nothing but a burning house.