Unshaken

Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honor

He was up before the sun the next morning. Nobody except Sadie and Reverend were up, and Liam was sure Reverend hadn't actually been asleep. He was paranoid about the swamps. Liam went for the coffee as the sun started to shine through the moss and oak trees. He poured himself a cup and walked around Shady Belle to get a good feel of the place. Strauss was sitting at the old boarded up house on the water. He saw gator eyes watching him as he walked along to the docks. He was no stranger to alligators. He wasn't scared of them, but knew to stay back.

It was even more humid than it was at Clemens Point. He did miss that camp, but a house was something different. This gave him a flashback of himself not long after his grandmother had died when he was younger. He had visited her grave and came back as the sun started to set. He went to open the front door to find it locked. He knocked on the window only to have his dad spit whiskey at the glass. The clouds grew dark and the rain started to fall. He shivered and tried to sit under a tree for protection but it did very little. He sat for hours freezing, hating himself. He was glad to have a roof over his head again.

He snapped back to reality to find a snake crossing the water into the other side of the swamps. He hated snakes with a passion. He wanted to shoot it but remembered they had to keep their location discreet. He heard Abigail crying with Karen trying to console her. He then remembered that Jack was still not there. He was ready to meet with Bronte to see what the dangerous Italian had wanted from them.

He spent half of the day helping set the rest of the camp up and moving supplies in. Susan was pleased. Then John came up to him. "Come on. We're headed out. Gotta meet Dutch." John said. Liam grabbed his hat and followed John to the horses. They rode north past Caliga Hall. John didn't talk much. Everybody could tell how frustrated he was with the situation, and rightfully so. "I know Dutch can talk our way out of this." Liam said riding the fence line of the Grays' Place. "Yeah, I hope so. Just can't believe we let him get away like that." John said. Liam hummed in agreement as they started to see the buildings of the city.

They rode up to the bridge entering Saint Denis. "I don't have any idea how people live in this." John said as they looked at the city. "Makes your skin crawl, huh?" Liam asked as they started into the southern city. They rode past jazz music players and street urchins. It was evening now. Liam didn't totally despise the place, he just couldn't be there for more than a few hours without him wanting to put a bullet in his own skull. They came onto a road full of big houses and fancy people. John led them to a park to see Dutch sitting on the step of the gravel trail that led through the park.

"You boys finally made it. Thought eventually scum would come, just hoped it would be you two and not some street rats." Dutch joked. The two climbed off their horses and joined Dutch as the sun started to set. They talked for a little while until they heard horse hooves and Arthur rode up and approached them from behind.

"There you are." Dutch said looking back at Arthur. "You boys ready?" Arthur asked. "'Course. What else do you know about this guy?" Dutch asked as the three stood up and started towards the mansion. "Not much, just that he's some slick, little greasy-haired European who's clearly got power and money." Arthur said. "Bastard runs the city government." Liam said. "Now, listen. If we go in there and start shooting up the place, the boy's gonna get shot. That, I guarantee. Feller like this is gonna have a lot of protection." Arthur warned. "Ain't no one gonna get shot, so everyone just relax. We'll charm him." Dutch said quieter as the group approached the gates. "Trust me. This the place?" Dutch asked. "Must be." Arthur replied. "You okay John?" Dutch asked, getting ready for anything. "I guess." John replied.

The walked up to the gate. "Excuse me, sir. We have an appointment to see Mr. Bronte." Dutch said to the Italian guard who was on the other side. "Who are you?" The guard asked in an Italian accent. Dutch reached through the bars and pulled the man into the gate causing him to fall to his knees, grabbing the guard's gun in the process. Dutch then pulled his revolver out and put it to the man's forehead. "You get your boss down here and now so we can talk about this like gentlemen." Dutch said menacingly. The guard groaned and stood up. "Run along now, boy." Dutch said, handing him back his gun.