Chapter Text
When Arthur begged you, all those years ago, to run away and never look back, you truly thought this would be the most lonely you have ever felt in your life. You couldn’t even have imagined what being in a different country with the intention of hunting down a man you once loved would feel like.
But there you were, sweaty, sunburned and all on your own, in Mexico. Somehow involved in something way bigger that you, way bigger than your mission. Every shot you triggered, every man you killed, it felt like you were watching yourself from the outside. This was a life you thought you had left behind, many many years ago. You promised Arthur you would, after all. But your past always catches up with you, one way or another. And in your case it was quite literally.
The day the two city men approached you, you were about to return to your little room above the saloon you had been working at as a waitress the past eight years. Wearing expensive suits and expressionless looks on their faces, they stopped you in the hallway. One of them felt familiar, but you weren’t too sure. Said man, introducing himself as Edgar Ross, spoke with a voice which left no room for denial:
“You, miss, are a wanted woman. Wanted for murder and theft in association with the former van der Linde gang.”
Air refused to enter your lungs. Your legs felt like their were about to give up. Panic made you feel light-headed. It wasn’t your own life you were fearing for. But the one oh so precious waiting for you in your room.
“I don’t know what you are talking about sir, this has to be a case of mistaken identity.” You answered with a steady voice, trained from a lifetime of lying.
“I don’t think so” Ross maintained, as he digged through his bag. What he pulled out made you bite your tongue hard enough to taste blood. “Isn’t that you, miss?”
What he held out for you to see was that old wanted poster of yours, back from the total disaster that was the Blackwater massacre.
Instead of answering you kept silent, staring into Ross’ smug snout. Your head was doing backflips, trying to come up with a plan of smashing his old, ugly head in without his partner shooting you on spot.
“For your crimes, you are going to hang, miss.” The other man, Fordham, said. You threw him another hate-filled glare, your head held high and muscles tense. “But what if we could strike a deal instead?” Now that took you off your balance. “Are you trying to play me for a fool, sir? What kind of deal would be of interest for you concerning me?” You sneered at them. Oh what you would do to have your revolver at your side right now.
“We are ready to exchange your life for that of those outlaws you once called partners” Ross stated as he pulled out three more posters out of his bag. “If you are able to bring us Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella and your former leader, Dutch van der Linde, you are a free woman.”
You couldn’t help the dry laughs leaving your equally dry throat. “And how are you expecting me to do that? I have not seen or heard from these men in at least eight years! I am a simple woman, not a magician! If you want them, you have to look for them yourselves, with a task as impossible as that i might just hang myself right here right now!” you spat.
“We are busy men, miss. It is a shame you are being so uncooperative. We could have done this the easy way, but instead i was right when i expected us to be in need of some strong arguments, ain’t i right Mr Fordham?” Fordham nodded and you started feeling even more unsettled. Where were they going with this?
Ross, conscious of your nervous state and lazily smirking, nodded his head towards the door of your room. “Cozy little place you’ve got there. And the child? Sweet thing.” Before he could even blink, you were at his throat, holding the collar of his jacket in a tight grip as you had him pushed against the wall. You didn’t even care for the click of a revolver cocking behind you, or the feeling of the barrel pressed hardly against the back of your head. With what must have been an animalistic look on your face you growled at Ross with enough venom to kill a bear.
“I swear to god, if you touched my girl, there will be no mercy for you sons of bitches.”
Ross, seemingly unfaced by all of this, simply nodded towards Fordham, who slowly lowered his gun but kept it steady in his hand. “Miss, the girl is fine. She is on her way to the country home of an associate as we speak. But all of that can change very quickly. I think we can discuss the terms of the deal now?”
That was four months ago. Since then you went on a desperate hunt for the men you once called friends. One even more than that.
When you heard of a man matching Javier’s description in Mexico, you wasted no time getting on the road. You always suspected that Javier would return to his home country, after the end of the gang.
Even after all those years, thinking of the man never became any easier. You still relieved the shared memories at night. Listening to him playing the guitar, following him to a raid, or simply sharing a cigarette. You never thought that it was possible to find love on the run, as an outlaw, but one day, you noticed that your heart would beat faster whenever your eyes met. A kiss shared under the moon soon sparked a passionate romance between the two of you . In the end you begged him to run off with you, to no avail. One week after that you realized you were pregnant.
You pulled the hat lower over your head as you rode through mexico’s blistering heat. Your stallion, Dagger, might have aged in years but kept on pulling through as well as he did as a youngster. You don’t think you would even have come this far without the sturdy thoroughbred, carrying you out of every predicament you skillfully managed to locate, in full strides. And what a predicament this whole mexico fiasco had become. Somehow finding yourself at the centre of a revolution, after almost getting yourself killed by the regime if it hadn’t been for the revolutionist Abraham Reyes. It was one big mess.
“Oh Dagg, do you think anyone at home would believe what we have been doing down here?” you muttered to the horse, quietly enough so the man riding next to you wouldn’t hear. Reyes was a peculiar man. And while you kept hopes up that he could lead his country to a better future, you weren’t too fond of the man himself. That didn’t matter much though, as he and his men were your only hope of storming the fort Javier apparently kept himself hidden in. “Señora, how about after all this is over, you stay here? I could offer you a very comfortable life, probably better than anything awaiting you in América for sure.” proclaimed Reyes as he turned towards you. “Very generous of you sir, but i have a daughter waiting for me at home.” you answered in your best charming-lady voice. To be honest you couldn’t wait to be back on the road. Reyes just laughed loudly, shaking his head. “I thought you would say so, such a shame! Quite the lady you are! But more of that later, you see on the horizon? El Presidio, we are almost there.” You kept your focus on the fort in the distance as Reyes shouted commands at his men. If Javier was indeed there, you won’t be able to avoid a shootout. With a heavy heart and shaking hands you send Dagger into a forceful gallop, the mexican revolutionists following suit.