The Story Of Red Dead Redemption

Chapter 79: Confrontation

"Damn it…" 

Arthur never expected that the "show" he'd stumbled upon would involve his own gang. The two groups engaged in the gunfight were Dutch's gang and the O'Driscolls. 

Why had the gang returned to these parts? Arthur couldn't understand. Did they not realize how close they were to Blackwater? 

Despite his confusion, seeing Dutch's group at a disadvantage, Arthur couldn't stay angry. He quickly mounted his horse and rushed toward the other side of the river. 

Arthur's plan was to flank the O'Driscolls from behind and catch them off guard. 

On the battlefield, the O'Driscolls were slowly advancing across the river. 

Though Dutch and Davey had been taking out enemies with almost every shot, the arrival of reinforcements forced them to take cover under the hail of bullets. 

"What do we do, Dutch?" John shouted from behind a rock. 

"Keep firing! Don't expose yourselves! We have to hold them off!" Dutch yelled to the group. 

Charles, after risking a shot to take out a mounted enemy, shouted to Dutch.

"Dutch! We didn't bring an arsenal. We're running out of ammo! We need to retreat!" 

Charles was right. Though the O'Driscolls' aim was poor, their numbers were overwhelming, and the gang was running low on bullets. 

Why did the O'Driscolls suddenly have so many men? 

Blame the Cornwall train incident and the Strawberry news. Both had made headlines, drawing a wave of ruffians and criminals to the O'Driscolls, swelling their ranks. 

Meanwhile, Arthur had quietly reached the other side of the river. 

The area was a small forest, and the O'Driscolls' attention was focused on the river. Using the cover of gunfire, Arthur slipped in unnoticed. 

He drew his bow. 

One by one, Arthur silently took out every O'Driscoll he encountered, moving from one end of the forest to the other. 

***

"Dutch! It seems like there's no one left on the O'Driscoll side!" Davey shouted after taking out the last enemy on the riverbank. He hadn't seen anyone else emerge from the woods. 

To be honest, the ambush had been intense, reminding Davey of the chaos in Blackwater. 

'Bang!'

A sudden gunshot from the other side made Dutch's group tense up again. 

"It's me! Arthur! Don't shoot!" Arthur shouted before slowly emerging from the woods. He'd tried to take out the last enemy with his knife but failed, resorting to a brawl before finally using his gun. 

On Dutch's side, hearing Arthur's voice, the group cautiously stood up from their cover. John, curious but relieved, shouted, "Arthur, where the hell have you been? I thought we were done for!" 

In John's mind, no matter the danger, Arthur always showed up to save the day. This time was no exception, though a bit late. 

Arthur ignored John's excitement. Since he'd run into Dutch here, Arthur decided to immediately share his findings about Micah. 

Dutch watched silently as Arthur approached them. 

"Stop right there. You left us, Mr. Morgan. What are you doing here now?" 

Arthur paused, annoyed by Dutch's pettiness but determined to get his point across. 

"Dutch, Micah is…" 

"Wait, where's Micah?" Dutch interrupted, suddenly realizing Micah was missing. 

The group looked around but saw no sign of Micah. Just as they began to wonder where he was, Micah appeared downstream, soaked. 

"Damn, I got knocked out by the explosion and washed downstream," Micah said, walking toward the group. 

When Micah saw Arthur standing in the river, he raised his gun instinctively as Arthur pointed his weapon at him. 

"What the hell, Arthur? What's this about?!" Micah shouted. 

"Traitor!" Arthur kept his gun trained on Micah while addressing Dutch. 

"Dutch, Micah betrayed us. He's working with the Pinkertons! I was on my way back to camp to tell you…" 

"Arthur!" Dutch cut him off, drawing his guns and pointing one at Arthur and the other at Micah. 

"Lower your guns! Micah, you too. Let's talk this through." 

The others were stunned by the sudden tension. 

After the intense battle, many were still recovering, and now this? The atmosphere was electric with tension. 

Micah tried to lighten the mood. 

"Come on, Arthur, the law's probably on its way. We don't have time for this. Lower your gun. We can't waste any more time here." 

Arthur smirked, noticing the tension in Micah's grip on his gun. 

"We've got plenty of time, Micah. And a lot to talk about." 

"Then speak. I'm listening. Show me your evidence," Dutch said, his tone heavy. 

Arthur kept his eyes on Micah, ready to fire.

"I met Agent Milton, Dutch." 

"I know. Sean told me." 

"It seems Micah has a connection with Milton that we don't know about." 

Micah dropped the good man act.

"What the hell are you talking about, cowboy?" 

"You ratted us out," Arthur said calmly. 

Micah denied it, spitting on the ground. "You're lying." 

"Dutch… trust me," Arthur said, his voice filled with emotion for the first time. 

"Milton told me. Micah betrayed us," Arthur pressed. 

In truth, Milton hadn't told Arthur anything. This was all Arthur's deduction. 

"Dutch! This makes no sense!" Micah was nervous. He knew Dutch still trusted Arthur more than anyone. 

And Micah knew Arthur's aim was far superior to his own. With Arthur's gun trained on him, Micah didn't dare make the first move, fearing Arthur would shoot him before Dutch could intervene. 

To make matters worse, Charles, John, Bill, and Javier seemed swayed by Arthur's words. 

In the midst of this tension … 

'Bang!' 

'Bang!'

*****

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