Valentine, Sheriff's Office.

Brandi sat on his bed in the cell, staring at the town sheriff, Curtis Malloy, outside the bar.

Sheriff Malloy felt a little nervous when he felt that he was in the middle of a standoff with a powerful bounty hunter and a good sharpshooter.

Brandy, on the other hand, felt that he had only been away from town for most of the day, and had gone from being popular to being targeted, and now that he was in prison, he was only full of confusion and embarrassment.

"I say, Sheriff," said Brandy, a little helplessly, "you brought me here, got my gun off, put me in jail, and then stared at me right here, and I don't even know why I was treated like this, do you think it's reasonable?" ”

Sheriff Malloy didn't speak, just pulled over a chair and sat down, and continued to smoke a cigar, as if I didn't move if I let you play with my lips and tongue.

"Take 10,000 steps back, even if you are a death row prisoner, you will know what crime you have committed, right?" Brandi continued, "You're now inexplicably putting a federally certified bounty hunter in jail, and under the law, even if you're a town sheriff, you're going to have to serve at least a year of hard labor in a prison on Sisica. ”

Sheriff Malloy remained silent, but Brandy noticed that Sheriff Malloy's hand trembling visibly as he spoke of a year of hard labor, and Brandy knew that his words had made a difference.

"I think my words have touched your soul," Brandi became more and more relaxed at this time, "but don't worry, Sheriff Malloy, you and I are friends, I will not embarrass you, as long as you tell me what happened, I will treat this incident as if it didn't happen." ”

"Also, friendly reminder, don't think about killing people," Brandi reminded again, "You should have seen it too, and I have two friends with me, and if they don't see me coming out of your office unharmed before dark, they will inform my other friends that whatever they do to you and your police officers will be legally classified as justified defense, and even if they go to court, they will not be acquitted, and you and your men, It will only become part of the mud that paved the roads of Valentine. ”

Sergeant Malloy took a deep puff on his cigar and did not extinguish the end of the cigarette until the cigar in his hand was about to burn his fingers.

Sergeant Malloy sighed and said, "Brother Brandi, speaking of which, this matter is indeed related to you, and I really have no choice but to make this decision." ”

He got up from his chair, walked over to his desk, pulled open a drawer, took out a yellowed piece of paper from it, and handed it to Brandi through the gap between the prison bars.

Brandi took the strange-smelling piece of paper, the handwriting on the paper was black and red, and if you sniffed it closely, you could catch the faint smell of rust.

"Written in blood?" A trace of doubt rose in Brandy's mind, and he began to read what was written on the paper:

"To the people of Valentine,

In recent times, our brothers and sisters have been mercilessly hurt and hunted, all because of a man you should all know, and we do not expect you to release them, but only hope that you will hand him over within three days, so that we will choose to treat the townspeople well, or we will not be left in the morning in three days. ”

There was no inscription on the paper, but from the meaning revealed between the lines, Brandi could probably guess the identity of the person who left the book.

He handed the paper back to Sheriff Malloy and said, "Let me guess if the person who came to deliver the letter was wearing a strange robe and talking with a chattering voice?" ”

Sheriff Malloy was at first a little surprised, and then he was aware of it, and replied, "It seems that this matter has something to do with you, and yes, one of the people who came was indeed dressed in a strange robe, and shouted like a madman, what purification, what judgment, and so on, and looked like a fanatic, but what he said was not at all the doctrine of the Bible." ”

"Huh?" Brandi keenly captured the details of Sheriff Malloy's words and said, "You mean, there are people other than the kind of people I'm talking about?" Does he have any characteristics? ”

Sheriff Malloy pondered for a moment, and then said, "That man was completely different from his companion, a scruffy cowboy dress, with a strong Irish accent, and a very aggressive, standard outlaw maniac. ”

"Irish accent? Odrysco? Is he allied with the Shepherds? And you came to deal with me? Brandi felt like he had really become a real man of the moment for a moment, after all, theoretically, the one who could be targeted by two legendary wanted criminals should also be a legend.

"Oh, by the way," said Sheriff Malloy again, "the Irish bandit took advantage of the chaos and kidnapped a little girl, saying that if you could not be handed over on time, he would give her to ...... in front of everyone in town at the appointed time."

Sheriff Malloy didn't say any more, but Brandy knew that no matter what the words were, nothing would end well for the little girl.

"So what?" Brandi was not in a hurry at this time, now that he knew what was going on, then the matter would be resolved, "You just compromised with a cult that endangered the country, with a notorious gang, imprisoned a bounty hunter who had made outstanding contributions to the security of the town and even the state, and planned to hand him over to those scum?" ”

"I ...... ......Sheriff Malloy was a little at a loss when asked by Brandy, and finally, he sighed heavily and said, "Alas, I can't help it, Brother Brandi, you also know the situation in our town, all the police force plus me are only eight people, even counting the existing vigilantes in the town, there are less than twenty people at most, it is impossible to stop those bandits and cultists, they have threatened to use more than a hundred people, and even heavy weapons." ”

Brandi asked, "Can't you call for help?" Isn't it all feasible for the marshals in charge of the area, the state's mounted police, or if they really can't, to go to the U.S. Army for help? ”

When Sheriff Malloy said this, he only felt that his head was as big as a fight: "Your Excellency the bailiff of this state has already been here once this month, and I don't know when I will come next time, and you also know that the whereabouts of the bailiff are elusive, and we can't find him at all." ”

"As for the Mounties, there is no way to count on them, and I have heard that all the Mounties in the area are now focused on dealing with the case of the hijacking of Mr. Cornwall's personal train, and they simply cannot focus on helping us, because the gains are not proportional to the possible losses."

"The U.S. Army is in a similar situation, they will only focus on driving and even slaughtering the Indians, and they will not care about the survival of a small livestock town on the territory of the state."

Speaking of this, Sergeant Malloy sighed again and said, "We are truly isolated now. ”

"So, you're going to sell me like this?" The smile on Brandi's lips was mocking and cold.

Sergeant Malloy smiled helplessly and said, "If there was another way, I don't want to do it either." ”

"And what if I have a way?" Brandi put away his smile, his face became serious, and his eyes gradually sharpened.

"Oh?" When Sheriff Malloy heard this, he immediately came to his senses, "What way?" Tell me more about it. ”

"You'll have to let me go," said Brandy, calmly, "look at the sky, it's going to get dark, and if you don't hurry, the thugs and cultists haven't been killed, and my friends are probably going to take your whole town off soon." ”

Sergeant Malloy subconsciously turned his head to look out the window, and saw that there were already some stars flashing in the dark blue sky, and immediately jumped up from his chair, hurriedly took out the prison key from the desk drawer, and released Brandy.

Brandi slowly came out of prison, moving his wrists and neck, and said, "You made the right choice, Mr. Sheriff. ”

"What exactly is the method you just said?" Sheriff Malloy asked impatiently.

"Reinforcements, of course, my dear Sergeant," said Brandy, straining his gun belt around his waist, "how can you, less than twenty, hold off more than a hundred bloodthirsty bandits and fanatical maniacs and heavy weapons spraying hot bullets?" ”

"But now at this juncture, where can I find reinforcements?" Sheriff Malloy said urgently.

"You don't have to worry about this," Brandi said lightly, "all you need to do is trust me." ”

At this moment, there was a commotion outside the door.

"Do you hear that?" Brandi smiled, "My friends came to pick me up." ”

Valentine, on the main road into town.

Ducky, Arthur, Charles, Javier, Maika, Bill, and Lenny were confronting the police officers in Valentine at gunpoint, all on their horses, each with a face veil over their faces out of an abundance of caution.

Dudge held up his two Schofield revolvers, locked on the two policemen with guns, and shouted: "Listen to the police in the city, we just want to take our friends away, we don't want to hurt any of you, I hope you release our friends as soon as possible, otherwise, I can't guarantee that my men will do anything out of the ordinary." ”

"The Boss is right," Mika said as he saw the excitement, "if you don't send out all of our youngest and most promising friends, I bet I'll crush all of you, I mean all the living in the town!" ”

"Mika, you're going too far." Arthur on the side quietly reminded.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's up," Mika smiled a little awkwardly, and then changed his words, "I was wrong just now, we don't care about civilians, but you badge-wearing dogs, we won't keep any of them when the time comes!" ”

"Shut up, Mika!" Ducky exclaimed.

"Okay, boss." Maika immediately shut her mouth.

"I repeat," shouted Ducky, word by word, "no, to, challenge, fight, I, we, to, patience, heart, okay?" Now, if I count dozens or ten, if we don't achieve our goal, you will bear the consequences. Ten! ”

"Hey," Brandi and Sheriff Malloy came out of the sheriff's office together, and when Brandi saw this, he immediately shouted, "I'm fine, you guys put down your guns, don't be impulsive." ”

Seeing that Brandi was safe and sound, Ducky pointed his gun to the air and said, "Brandy, are you alright?" ”

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Brandy replied as he mounted his horse and walked over to Ducky, "just to talk to Mr. Sheriff." ”

"It's okay," Ducky smiled slightly, and then shouted again, "Valentine's officers, I hereby advise you to be polite to Mr. Brandi Munny, otherwise, you will not end well, believe me." ”

"Let's go, boss, I have an important report here," Brandi whispered to Dutch for a while, and then suddenly asked Sheriff Malloy, "Mr. Sheriff, let me ask, did they say where they tied the little girl?" ”

"Not really." Sheriff Malloy shook his head and said.

"It seems that they are not arrogant to that extent." Brandis pondered, and then asked, "Did they say where they would send me if they caught me?" ”

"They said that," said Sheriff Malloy, "and they said that if they caught you, they would send you to Mr. Thomas Downs' ranch as soon as possible." ”

Brandy nodded thoughtfully, he turned his horse's head, and said, "Then I'll take my leave, Mr. Sheriff, relax, I'll surprise you tomorrow." ”

The eight men and eight horses rushed out of Valentine at a high speed, leaving Sergeant Malloy and his other police officers looking at the smoke and dust they left behind, looking a little silly.

"Sheriff, why did you let him out?" One of Sergeant Malloy's officers asked, somewhat annoyed.

"If I don't let him go, we're all going to be finished today," Sergeant Malloy replied to the cop angrily, and then he muttered as he looked at the billowing smoke that was disappearing on the horizon, "and, I believe him, if he says there is a way, there must be a way." ”

At night, the horseshoe lookout.

Around the campfire, all members of the Van der Linde gang sat around and listened to Brandy share information.

"You're saying that Colm Odrisko and a cult called the 'Seventh Generation' want to bloodied Valentine in order to arrest you?" Ducky asked.

"So to speak," Brandi nodded, "after all, I sent two of the cult's mid-level leaders to prison, and ruined Colm's plan to kidnap the Cornish Lady, and I guess both of them are eager to kill me alive now." ”

Arthur quipped: "I didn't expect that little doll that is still tender on the snowy mountain is already so capable, I am very pleased." His words drew laughter from almost everyone present.

"All right, let's be serious, now we're down to business," said Ducky, stopping everyone's laughter, "and now, Hosea, what do you think we should do about it?" ”

"If you want me to say it, we can run away now," Hosea said calmly, taking a puff of his cigarette, "Now, Valentine is no longer safe, but now we are all in the house, and none of them are bad, so now, we had better get out of here, run away, whether that town will remain on the map of the country in three days, it has nothing to do with us, and now, what we need to worry about most is that we don't know when we will catch up with our Pinkerton detectives by the smell and the trail, As long as we run fast enough, the puppies can't catch up with us, we go around in a big circle in the east and then go back to the west, and by that time the bounty doesn't make much sense, and we can just buy a few plots of land and live in retirement. ”

"But you have overlooked, my old fellow," said Ducky, "that we are now poor and have nothing in our pockets, and what shall we buy land for then?" Our own bounty? ”

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

"I want to say," Ducky paused, then added, "why don't we just beat Colm and his gang of puppies up at Valentine?" ”

"Ducky, are you crazy?" Hosea almost jumped up from his chair at once, and he said, "The train ticket has caught the attention of Cornwall, and according to Cornwall's temperament, he will definitely hire Detective Pinkerton to investigate us at a high price, in other words, we have already attracted Detective Pinkerton's attention, and now there is such an opportunity to allow Detective Pinkerton and the rest of the judiciary to divert their attention to those cultists and Colm, if they make a big enough noise, then we may really be able to escape the pursuit completely, Why do you want to get involved? ”

"Because I hate Colm, I want him dead, it's as simple as that." Ducky said through gritted teeth.

"Ducky, as much as I hate Colm, I also don't think it's appropriate to settle with them now," Arthur also advised, "Moreover, we do this, the risk is too great, but the benefit is too low, and the greatest gain from defending a town is reputation, but in our current situation, reputation is a burden we cannot bear." ”

"Then we don't want that fame," said Dutch, waving his hand, "and we're going to give it all to the sheriff, and we're going to ask for a higher monetary reward, which doesn't suit our needs?" ”

"Have you thought about it?" Hosea bitterly persuaded, "Do you think that if we helped the sheriff, we wouldn't be investigated?" Going there and mixing in with a kick will only make us more noticeable. Let's go, Ducky, this country is so big, where can't you get rich? ”

"But because the country is so big, there aren't many opportunities to beat Colm, and I can even say that it's only this once." Ducky's eyes were filled with the flames of revenge.

"Ducky," said Arthur, "didn't you say that?" Revenge is a fool's game. ”

"As long as you can move, you should make more fools," Dutch waved again, indicating that the topic could be over, "Alright, I've made up my mind, I'll go to Valentine tomorrow morning to negotiate with the sheriff, and you don't have to say anything more." ”

Hosea and Arthur looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

"Now that the boss has made up his mind, then, I have a reluctant request." Seeing that the dispute between the gang leaders was over, Brandi said while sighing in his heart that it was not surprising.

"Say it, Brandy." Ducky looked at Brandi and said.

"I learned from the sheriff that Colm's men had taken a little girl hostage, and although he didn't know where the guys had abducted her, Mr. Sheriff said that they had told them to take me to the Downs Ranch south of Valentine, so I guess that the little girl was in that place, and even if she wasn't there, the ranch was probably a camp for those people, and I wanted to go and get the little girl out of the misfortune that had been caused by me."

"Well, that fellow Colm is still so fond of playing tricks," Ducky sneered and disdainfully Colm Odrysco, and continued, "Well, that's the way to go, Brandy, but, whatever the situation is over there, you're going alone as if you're going to die." ”

Ducky immediately shouted, "Arthur, Charles, Lenny, you and Brandy, go and get that poor girl out, and if the girl isn't there, kill everyone there, and don't leave a single one." ”

"As you wish, Ducky."

Arthur answered, and beckoned Brandy, Charles, and Lenny to leave the campfire together, and each mounted on his horse, and ran towards their next destination.