Red West II.

Chapter six - Silver King

The Queen City of the Plains seemed to be huge, rich and beautiful for all those newcomers from the east, who arrived there filled with their foolish dreams about easily reachable wealth. But those who had lived there for a longer time, those who basically made Denver what it was, they knew better than that.

The pretty houses, luxurious hotels and neat cobblestoned streets – that was not everything. It was only very good cover of the real face of the city, which was so rotten under that mask it smelled. There were crowds of unlucky seekers for silver or gold wandering in the back streets aimlessly, dirty children of poor servants, who worked like slaves for the upper class, dozens of harlots treated with such cruelty it was terrifying even only talk about it, and of course corrupted politicians and criminal bosses, who could be spotted right at the entrance of the most noble hotel in the city – 'Brown Palace'.

There were already too many citizens around to control them with simple promises. Everybody wanted their reward in cash. If you had money to pay them off, you had power. You could get enough money, only if you had access to silver or gold. And only if you were clever enough, you were able to hold on that valuable resource and use those who were paid from it in the most convenient way. If you could control your subordinates, you gained their respect. And when people respected you, you could get an attention of the whole crowds and influence the world. A position of 'Lieutenant Governor of Colorado' required all of that, and Horace Austin Warner Tabor had it.

A long mustache was the most expressive part on the face of the man in his early fifties, who was standing at the tall, artistically decorated window on the fifth floor, watching the exciting scene in front of the hotel's entrance. A guard in brown uniform was dragging some loudly screaming barefoot kid down the stairs, pushing him away roughly, while the newly arrived guests observed it disgustedly.

Horace soothed his sideburns down to the chin, where his fingers rested, while he was thinking about the best way how to deal with begging children on the streets, who had started to be quite a problem recently.

A short knock interrupted him, but he reacted calmly to it: "Yes?"

"Lieutenant Parker is here, Governor, at your request," his steward in always impeccably clean uniform announced.

"Great, let him in and bring us some coffee."

"Yes, sir."

Governor Tabor adjusted his perfectly fitted suit a bit and came to meet his guest, shaking with the soldier's hand in a friendly manner.

"Come in, make yourself comfortable, Parker," he showed him to the chair. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, gladly. Thank you, sir," the tall lieutenant nodded gratefully. "I had a long night..."

"What happened?" Horace asked curiously, observing a pale face of the government employee.

"Unfortunately, my men drank a little more than they should have last night, sir," the lieutenant admitted unwillingly. "I was away to report to my superiors and couldn't watch over them. They caused some ruckus in Blake Street Saloon."

"That's unpleasant," Horace reacted seriously, as he sat down in his armchair.

"They will be punished, Governor," the soldier stated strictly.

"I have no doubt. Were they affected by that ambush so much?"

Parker fidgeted a little nervously under the Governor's sharp look: "Well, yes, sir, I would say so..." he stated slowly.

"I hope they're equally sorry for the delivery," Horace noted in a cold voice.

"Certainly, sir," the soldier assured him.