The Dusty Shamrock ~ OC RDR2 fanfiction

Chapter 15

I woke up with my head securely nestled against Charles' chest. There wasn't anyone out of their tent and the fire looked to be long extinguished. I slowly roused and took the liberty of stoking up the fire for the others to wake up to.

As I was doing so, I thought about how we were going to execute today's plan. I knew that Belle would be just fine, I'd seen her take out a herd of 20 or so bounty hunters all by herself. Nellie and I were madmen with a gun, however I was ever so slightly concerned as to whether Vix would still be able to take care of herself. She was very experienced when it came to Bank Heists and train robberies, but I hadn't seen her fight in a firefight for a very long time.

Charles snuck out of our tent and started helping me stoke the fire back up.
"Dry day, perfect." I remarked, Charles looked up to me and smiled.
"I, uh, I enjoyed last night, you're surprisingly warm and cuddly" Charles laughed, I giggled and thanked him for the compliment. Slightly startling me and my cuddle buddy, a disheveled looking Javier emerged from his shared tent with Victoria. Charles and I Sniggered at how his hair stuck up in all places.
"Shut up." He snapped. However only making Charles and I laugh even more. Javier sighed in frustration. "Just cause I'm getting some doesn't mean you have to be jealous" Our eyes widened at Javier's 'insult'. I started making fake gagging noises at the thought of him and my life-long best friend making love to each other.
"How do you know I didn't get any last night?" Charles joked, I gasped and playfully slapped his shoulder.
"C'mon, I could hear you two snoring from our tent, even with what we were doing" I shook my head in disapproval at Javier's justification. Vix soon emerged from the tent, although she didn't look quite as disheveled as her lover.

Once everyone was awake and ready to set off, that we did. We rode like a hurricane, bringing a storm upon the O'Driscolls. I knew exactly where I was going, and I had a plan.
"So what's our plan of action?" Vix asked.
"Charles and I will cover the cabin, we'll sneak in real quiet. When I come out of the cabin, Vix-you and Javier will cover the rear- Nellie an' Belle, you cover Everythin' else!" I yelled so that the back of the ride could hear us.
"Got it!" They replied in unison. We slowed up as we neared the camp. From what I could see, the place was still very much active, just as it had been a few days ago.
"Hitch the horses here, we'll go on foot from here" We dismounted, following my orders, taking our weapons from our horses. We stayed low, to make sure we were out of sight, Charles and I snuck behind the cabin taking every extra care as to not make a sound. Vix and Javier took the rear position, Nellie and Belle took their own positions.
"You ready?" I asked, Charles nodded.
"Hey" he started "whatever happens, I'm right beside you" I sighed and nodded in gratitude at his words.

We burst through the window, glass scattering across the wooden floor boards. There were about three men in the cabin, much to my disappointment, none of them were Colm. Charles threw his tomahawk at one of the men, killing him in one cold, swift, throw. He took care of the other man, who was quivering in the corner. I took out my knife and locked the last man standing in a deathly grip, keeping my knife against his neck.
"Where's Colm?" I snarled.
"H-He's not here- oh please, please don't kill me" he cried, I slid my knife along his throat and dropped him to the floor. Fury raging through my mind, I cocked my Lancaster repeater and booted the front cabin door open. I shot the first man I saw, cocking the gun again, taking out the O'Driscoll boys one by one as they came into view. Bullets flew everywhere, hitting everything but me and my crew. Vix was using her Cattleman revolver, placing the barrel against every man's head she came across. Nellie blew fire from her dual schofield revolvers and howled with excitement, Belle blowing holes through men with her Carbine repeater. Javier and Charles barely had to do anything as me and my girls had everything and everyone covered. The base was coated with silence as all the men had been shot dead, cold.
"Raid the place! Take anythin' you can fuckin' find!" I roared.
"Hey, That was some pretty good stuff" Charles patted my shoulder in a proud manner.
We ransacked the cabin whilst the others looted the bodies.
"Search the chimney, they hide money up there sometimes" I told Charles, he then looked into the chimney before reaching in and pulling out a wad of cash.

We found food, medical supplies, more money, booze and some maps and plans of all the O'Driscoll camps, weapons and ammunition. It was enough for me, Nellie and Vix to begin our own gang, perhaps we would fulfil that wish and kickstart our own gang. Vix and I needed our own outlaw names, Nellie's nickname was 'Mad Nellie'. We just had to get renowned for being as ruthless as we really were.

We rode back to where we were to set up our own camp. It would be right next to the Van Der Linde camp, then being our closes associates. We were welcomed back with mostly open arms, however I was sure to get a lecture from Dutch about disappearing for days without notifying anyone of my plans to do so.

As I was taking Ama's saddle off, I spotted Arthur storming towards me out of the corner of my eye. I stopped my actions and turned to him in concern. He loomed over me, taking ahold of me by my elbow. He kept a tight grip and dragged me into his tent.
"And just where have you been?" He growled. I yanked my arm free from his hold.
"I was collecting my old gang back toget'er" I replied.
"I thought you said they was all dead"
"Turns out I was wrong"
"And why was Javier and Charles with you? I can understand Vict-"
"Why d'you keep askin' me so many questions?" I snapped in a low frustrated tone, my accent turning thicker than blood. Arthur's neck retracted from its former, ludicrous position. I stormed out of the tent only to be greeted by Dutch readying a similar interrogation. "Not now." I held up a finger to silence him, not being in the mood anymore. Vix, Javier, Charles, Nellie and Belle were already setting up camp next to the camp I was currently standing in. Needing some time to cool down, I went to one place where I knew I wouldn't be grilled about my previous whereabouts. Hosea's tent.
"Hosea" I murmured from outside.
"Come in, dear girl"
"Could I talk t'ya for a minute?" I asked.
"Of course, take a seat" He patted the seat beside him, I took as seat as he'd instructed. "What's the matter?"
"I- uh, Hosea, what are your views on equality?"
"What do you mean, dear?"
"Do you believe that we should all be equal? Like, should someone of one race be able t'marry someone of anoth'r?"
"Well, I don't suppose I've ever thought about it. I think that love is love, shouldn't matter who you are or where you come from. The heart wants what it wants. Why do you ask?"
"It's just- I've come across a choice, there i'n't much of a choice to make but it still feels like I have t'choose" I tried to explain as best I could without fully revealing my dilemma.
"This is about Arthur, isn't it?" Hosea guessed, I shamefully nodded with tears lightly forming in my eyes and clouding my vision. "Sweetheart, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think Arthur is quite ready for another relationship. He's recently had his heart broken by a girl called Mary Gillis. He's having a hard time."
"What about when he took me out the oth'r day?"
"He's trying to get back on the horse before he's recovered from his last fall, I heard him tell Dutch the other day that it didn't feel right to be trying to find love this soon after Mary"
"That's actually helped me, a lot, Hosea. Thank you" I smiled at the old soul in gratitude before standing up.
"Do come and tell me of this other feller you've taken a liking to some day, I'm sure he's swell" The man who had become my father figure smiled. In an attempt to show my appreciation, I leant down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, just as I used to do to my real father before he was killed. "What was that for?" He asked in a kind yet curious tone.
"Nothing. I just...appreciate you" I exited his tent, happy with the discussion we'd had. I now knew, how my choice would unfold.