Out Of Time

Rob Them Both

This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

Arthur looked around as he left Sam's tent.  He spotted Dutch at his own tent with Micah and walked over to them.

"So, what do you think?" Dutch asked Arthur.

"About what?" Arthur replied.

"The fine folks around these parts," Dutch said with sarcasm.

"Oh, real nice," Arthur drawled in his western accent.

"Exactly.  On the one side, we have got the Gray family.  Scots, degenerates, drunkards, the local law..."  Dutch started chuckling.  "You couldn't make this stuff up.  Rich as Croesus.  And on the other...their mortal enemies, the Braithwaites.  Moonshiners, hypocritical, both rolling, we believe..."

"In gold," Micah interjected.

Arthur gave a nod to them.  "Hmm, and in the middle of it all, you got some inbred retellin' of Romeo and Juliet."

All three men started laughing.  "Exactly," Dutch said. 

"So whatchu boys thinkin'?"

Micah moved from the tent.  "We try to rob 'em both."

Arthur looked at Dutch in shock.  "You sure?"

"Why not?" Dutch asked.

"Because we got lawmen in three different states after us."

Dutch raised a hand.  "Last thing I want is to get us into trouble, but we need money.  Now we have the opportunity here to put ourselves in the middle of somethin', ain't nobody gonna know we was here.  Because even without us," Dutch outstretched his arms, "these fools are gonna kill each other anyway."

Arthur was not very convinced, but he trusted Dutch to know what he was doing.  Sort of.  This was not "lying low" like Dutch had told them all to do, but for now, Arthur just had to go along with it.

"Okay, well, Hosea's gone back to see that Braithwaite woman."

"Good," Dutch said, standing up.  "Hosea should definitely take the lead on this.  I sent Sean over to Braithwaite Manor, too.  Now you can meet up with them, or join John and Javier at the Gray's place.  Somethin' to do with the Braithwaite' prize horses."

"Well how the hell did we get an in at the Gray's place?!"

Dutch put a hand on Arthur's shoulder.  "Sheriff Gray kindly put in a word with his father.  It ain't that complicated."  Arthur shrugged off Dutch.  "We gotta convince each family that we're on their side, and then we rob 'em both before they figure out it was is that done it, and not the other lot, we'll no long gone.  Think of it as payback for my daddy."

Arthur didn't like the sound of that.  "Payback?  I ain't in the revenge business, Dutch.  Least of all for somethin' that happened a long time ago."

"Well, I guess we all gotta pay for somethin'."  Dutch looked over at Sam's tent then looked at Arthur.  "And Sam...do you think she still wants in on this?"

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Arthur gave the man a serious look.  He did not want Sam getting more involved in this, especially after what happened at the saloon.  "I can ask her, but I doubt it."

Dutch chuckled.  "That girl might not realize it, but she's got a knack for bein' an outlaw.  I saw that back at the moonshiner's distillery camp."

"Yeah, well, it's affected her quite a bit, Dutch.  She doesn't like it, and if I'm bein' honest, I don't like it neither."

Dutch gave Arthur a confused look. "Why?"