Chapter 79: Chapter 78
Chapter 78: The Attack
A wagon, with two armed guards seated at the front, slowly made its way north through the valley toward Strawberry. Accompanying it were six armed riders, closely guarding the bank wagon.
For some reason, the sunlight was suddenly blocked by a passing cloud.
At the same time, a group of masked outlaws on horseback charged down from a nearby hill. The guards, faced with this sudden ambush, didn't panic. They immediately sped up and began returning fire at the pursuers.
'Bang! Bang! Bang!' Gunfire echoed across the valley.
"See? Didn't I tell you this would be easy? What a rush! Hahaha!" Micah laughed, turning to the others after shooting one of the riders.
Soon, another guard was hit by Micah's bullet.
The guard fell from his horse, his foot caught in the stirrup, and was dragged away.
The remaining guards slowed down, forming a barrier in front of Dutch's group, and continued firing back. Despite that the movement of their horses are making it hard to aim, they had no choice but to shoot and hope their bullets would somehow find their targets.
Whether that was within God's service range was another matter.
The bank wagon, thanks to the guards' efforts, had managed to pull ahead. But with its limited speed, it couldn't completely shake off the pursuing outlaws.
Davey noticed the situation and realized they'd lose the wagon if this continued.
He spurred his horse forward, bypassing the guards' blockade. Once close enough, Davey took a deep breath, steadied his aim, and shot the driver. He then quickly took out the guard sitting beside him.
The bank wagon, now without a driver, slowly came to a stop in the middle of the road.
Just as Davey finished securing the wagon and turned to help the others, Micah's annoying voice rang out behind him.
"Nice work, partner! I'll take the reins."
Dutch and the others thought it would be better to just take the money and leave the cumbersome wagon behind. But Micah had already climbed onto the wagon, so they had no choice but to follow on horseback.
The group rode off with the wagon in tow.
"What did I tell you? Easy as pie," Micah boasted loudly.
Despite the successful heist, the others couldn't stand Micah's smug attitude. If it hadn't been for Davey's quick thinking, the wagon would have gotten away, and the whole job would've been for nothing.
Yet here Micah was, bragging like he'd done all the work. What a piece of work, Javier thought, and he wasn't the only one.
Dutch, however, seemed pleased. He nodded and spoke.
"Not bad. Though I have to say, those guards were tougher than expected. If it weren't for us, they might've gotten away."
Dutch wasn't just being polite. In that situation, if the guards had held out long enough for the wagon to escape and then scattered, there would've been no way to catch them.
John rode up to Micah.
"Why didn't we just take the money and leave? Why bring the wagon?"
"Oh, kid, this is a bank wagon full of cash. We can't just carry it all. Plus, opening it would take time, and we'd risk a second wave of guards catching up. And hey, a shiny new wagon and a pile of cash? That's the perfect gift! Hahaha."
Javier cursed Micah in his mind, calling him a lunatic. Bill, on the other hand, was happy. He'd contributed to the job and would get a bigger cut.
John didn't comment, though he was surprised by Micah's unusually thoughtful answer. Maybe the success of the heist had put Micah in a good mood. John didn't press further.
"Dutch, you can't say I didn't pull my weight this time," Micah said cheerfully.
Dutch finally smiled and replied, "You bastard, when did I ever say that?"
For the moment, at least, the mood among the group seemed positive.
They followed the wagon until they reached a river.
Suddenly, a large tree fell across the road ahead, nearly crushing the wagon.
Micah yanked the reins hard to the left. The wagon veered onto the rocky riverbank, and then a small explosion rocked the ground, flipping the wagon onto its side. Micah was thrown into the water.
Everything happened so fast. It took Dutch a moment to react.
"Take cover! We're under attack!"
Bill started firing wildly into the woods ahead, not even seeing where the attackers were.
"What the hell?!"
"Damn it, they're on the other side of the river! Stop shooting at the trees!" Davey yelled, taking cover behind a large rock by the river and firing at the attackers.
The explosion had severed the wagon's connection to the horses, which had already bolted. All that remained was the overturned wagon, lying between the two groups.
Dutch immediately recognized the attackers' attire.
Tacky green. It had to be the O'Driscolls.
Enemies meeting face-to-face, no words were needed. The gunfight erupted.
From his position, Dutch couldn't see Micah. He shot an enemy trying to flank them and shouted, "Micah! You alright?"
No response.
"They're damn O'Driscolls!" John yelled.
"Shoot them! Kill them all!" Dutch replied, taking down another enemy.
Davey, after taking out two enemies trying to flank them, shouted to Dutch.
"We can't hold out! There are too many of them! Watch out—riders coming from the side!"
***
After leaving Micah's camp, Arthur followed the mountain trail down. As he neared the valley, he heard the sound of gunfire.
Curious, he followed the sound. When he reached the area, he found the bodies of dead guards and numerous hoofprints leading forward, along with the clear tracks of a wagon.
Based on experience, Arthur guessed a wagon had been robbed. Since the wagon was gone, leaving only bodies, this wasn't an ordinary heist. Interesting.
Arthur followed the trail.
Along the way, he saw bodies of more guards. Were these outlaws that skilled?
Arthur grew even more curious.
He followed the trail further and finally heard the sound of gunfire ahead. Approaching cautiously, Arthur hoped to enjoy the show.
But as he got closer, he recognized the two groups engaged in the gunfight.
In an instant, Arthur's amusement vanished.
*****
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