"I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to tell you that. My client-" Lozen started, not letting any silence linger, but was stopped when Finch spoke "Your client is a passenger aboard my train and as that, they should know about the policies I have if they wish to keep that illustrious title. One of those policies is that any business of your persuasion is permitted so long as a detailed descriptions of said business are reported to me. So imagine my surprise when I am informed of such an operation without my foreknowledge."
Lozen froze up at that for a moment. She hadn't even considered that this Alberta would keep that tight of an operation here and panicked for a split second, but didn't let the fear become apparent. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you in that regard." Lozen replied, stopping short of mentioning this nonexistent client in anyway. However, Alberta gave a small hum before asking "I thought as much. Tell me, what is this client paying you? Surely you wouldn't have a problem disclosing your rates to a potential, and might I add very affluent, customer?"
Lozen paused again before remembering the money she had stashed away in her compartment and said "300 dollars. Half at the start and half when the job is done." Alberta nodded before saying without hesitation "I'll triple that if you tell me the name of your client." At first Lozen thought she might have heard the patron wrong considering the casual way she had tossed out that much money. She even felt a small smile crack on her face as she heard that, but what little joy she got from the supposed mistake faded when she saw that Alberta wasn't laughing.
"If you take me for a kidder, I can assure you you're mistaken. Your payment is not a concern to me. All I need is for you to say one little name and you and your companion will leave this train on the next stop richer than you could possibly imagine." The patron continued, just as composed as before. Lozen straightened herself at that, wanting to jump at the chance to collect that much money from just a 500 dollar bounty, but didn't speak so soon. She didn't have a name nor did she know any in this train besides Judas.
Her heart started racing as her mind was sent into a rush, trying to figure out just what to do. There was no way she could shoot her way out of this and she had doubts that talking would be any different. Though, it wasn't as if she had much choice. She cleared her throat and, remembering what her companion had said, answered "Elizabeth....." For a second, she paused before finding a suitable name and then adding a split second later "Shaw. "
Alberta raised an eyebrow at that before saying "Is that so? A Shaw then. Well, that is quite a shame." She then raised her hand up and waved over one of the guards standing resolute against the walls. They marched over, leaned down to let Alberta whisper something in his ear, nodded, and then marched on over to the door Lozen had come from.
"Normally I would explain what happens next, but you seemed to be unusually well spoken for some one of your persuasion. So I take it somewhere in that primitive mind is a modicum of intelligence." Finch added.
Her comment made Lozen's heart skip a beat and fill her thoughts with nothing but fears. She was used to people having less than flattering assumptions about her, but if what she had heard was true, this Alberta woman was the last person she wanted to be suspicious because of said assumptions.
Her trigger finger twitched a second before Finch continued "Which is quite intriguing if I do say so myself. You wouldn't mind telling me exactly how you came to be so intelligent." She wasn't asking and that put Lozen more on edge, but she still tried to remain as composed as she could. "Master....." Lozen again paused for a second before saying "Erin taught me. He didn't want a savage embarrassing him in front of clients."
"It seems strange that did not find someone already suited for this sort of business."
"I work for free."
"Then why do you work for him?"
"Protection. I have nowhere else to go but the pale man's world."
Alberta leaned back into her chair at that and said "How orthodox. My condolences to your people. I've always been fascinated by your culture. It's really a shame to see it all go up in smoke at the hands of those barbarians."
Something was wrong. Their business should have been done. Alberta had the name she should have wanted, so why was she still talking? "I must say I am not surprised he would decide to teach you such formalities. He does seem to have an unequivocal trust in you." She continued, nodding towards the revolver strapped to Lozen's side. "I assume he also showed you how to use that?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"And now why would he do that?"
"He said 'we'll it's not like you can do much else. Might as well make yourself a decent distraction. Maybe you'll kill something with it."
"And you remember all of that?"
"He repeats it.....a lot."
Alberta let out a tiny hum before saying "Poor thing. I sympathize with you." Lozen jumped at the opportunity to be confused at that even though she understood exactly what the patron was talking about and said "What do you mean?"
"Let's just say you don't get where I am without interacting with some unsavory companions. Especially as a woman. You can understand that, can you not?"
Something was wrong. Lozen could tell that much. This woman was keeping her here for a reason, one that probably related to that guard she had sent out. No. That wasn't it. There were more than enough guards to keep her in place. The patron wanted something from her, but what whatever it was, Lozen figured it was best not to tell her just yet. For all she knew, it was the only reason she was still alive.
She relaxed her trigger finger and said "I'm sorry, but I have-" Alberta cut her off her dagger of a voice "And do quite it with that infernal voice. My god, you sound like my dog trying to pass itself off as a real boy. It's personally insulting that you think I would be fooled by such a lousy performance." Lozen hadn't even noticed she was still deepening her voice and corrected herself before continuing "I'm sorry-"
"And stop saying that wretched phrase. No one worth their words had ever needed to say sorry."
Lozen paused again before resuming "Very well, madam. I was just trying to say that...it's difficult enough without being...you understand."
"Of course. But that is no excuse for accepting a lesser line of work. Only brutes kill for a living. Just look at these men here." Alberta smiled as she gestured to the guards around her, absolutely none of which gave any indication they had heard her at all. Lozen smiles under her bandana, compelled by some primal feeling of fear she could feel growing the more the patron spoke, and replied "It was all I could manage. I don't have many other skills."
"I'm not surprised. I could count on one hand how many of your people have been able to integrate into our world, let alone come into contact with one of my passengers. That master of yours must be quite impressive."
"Yes. He-" A piece of the puzzle hit Lozen square in the head the second she started that sentence. It was only a theory at first though, but one she desperately wanted to confirm. She kept herself composed under her hat and bandana before saying "He says he is. I wouldn't know. He doesn't talk about himself a lot."
"Is that so? Quite surprising in all reality. He must put a lot of trust in you if he's willing to give you a gun."
"Only as long as I do what I'm told."
"And what might that be?"
"Tending the horse's...target practice."
"With you as the target I assume?"
"More or less."
"He must be a decent shot if you've never been hit."
Lozen thought about lying, but considering the patron seemed like the intelligent type, she decided to probably not do so unless she had really or very good fake injury for her to inspect. "Yes. He's the best shot in the state." The worst part was, Lozen couldn't say for certain that wasn't true and it made her hate something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Fate? God? Whatever a "Mother Nature" was? Whatever it was, she despised it for making what she said true, but still shoved it down before long.
"Is that so?" Alberta began. "And how exactly would he come to be so skilled? A lawman perhaps?"
"No!" Lozen stated a little to loud, but all it earned from Alberta was a slight rise of the eyebrow. "No. He's never been.....forgive me I say this wrong, but 'the right side of the law'. It's something he says." She continued in a more composed voice. Alberta let out a small hum and replied "How fortunate. Lawmen can be a bit of a hassle, especially those who come to my train with...let's say delusions of grandeur. So then was this master of yours an outlaw? Perhaps a rather infamous one?"
That was all Lozen needed to confirm her theory. Alberta was trying to get a story out of her. This wouldn't have been much of a problem if it wasn't for the pile of bones refusing to believe it was dead a few cars back and their intended target. But why? Did this woman really care about a couple of bounty hunters? She must have known about the business that occurred on her train? So for what rea....it struck her in the gut and twisted her stomach into knots.
She was suspicious. But why?! What tipped her off? It couldn't have been the name, otherwise she wouldn't have hesitated to dispose of a potential problem! Was it her mask!? She seemed fine if-Stop. You're panicking, she told herself. Panicking makes you stupid and the stupid never see the next sunrise. Calm down. You're not dead yet. You can't fight and you can't hide, so start talking.
"I wouldn't know. He never says anything specific."
"That sounds irritating."
"No." She lied. "He's been very kind to me."
"And yet he tells you nothing of himself. That sounds very strange."
"I tend not to ask-"
"Oh I do not think so. You are more intelligent than the others specimens of your people."
"Thank you, but I really-"
"No need to be humble. It takes quite a lot to have assimilated our mannerisms so well. Why, my men barely remembered to mention your heritage when they informed me of your arrival."
"They.....they informed you?"
"Of course. It took me many years and more than a few bodies to get this train. So, I have a very strict set of policies when it comes to how it is operated. Never let the passengers go unserved, let knowledge of the less than proud acts that occur on the train, and always know who exactly is on your train with you. I have a detailed list of every person who is or has ever been on my line, up here." She rapped a finger against her temple. "My train is like a healthy body. When unknown agents come inside, I send my immune system," Another hand passed at her sides, gesturing to the guards in the car. Lozen pulse continued to build as Alberta continued and her hands inched ever so closer to her gun in a move so instinctive not even it's undertaker noticed. "To deal with the invaders. Unless, you're not unknown agents. Maybe then I'll let you continue along with your business uninterrupted. After all, I'd hate to impede on the journey of such a fascinating specimen."
Lozen was desperately trying to panic as Finch finished. Every instinct sewn into her body was screaming for her to run and she could practically feel the barrels pointed against her scalp. She needed to say something now before this woman decided she and Judas weren't worth the trouble.
Think, damnit, think!! She wanted something! What was it! If unknown agents were a problem, she wouldn't have taken so long to get to the threat!! Think! What did she want to know?! Client!? Origin?! Their true purpose on the train!? Wait! That was it! What she had said. Unknown agents. Detailed descriptions. Lawman. Think, Lozen! It's obvious!
She worked with Judas and his old gang, a collection of some of the most infamous people this side of the Mississippi! And now she was surrounded by a troop of people who spread rumors and stories about each other with a bounty on her head! All it took was for one person to say the wrong thing for the law to come sneaking aboard her train! And they had just come in wearing masks without an employer they failed to name until three minutes ago!! If they weren't lawmen, they could be bounty hunters which they fucking were!!
Calm down!! You're still alive! Breath. You're still alive. Stop thinking and start talking.
Lozen didn't move a muscle. Shuffling or straightened herself out would just mean she was stupid. Keep eye contact. That was how Alberta would know something was wrong. Stay still, collected, and talk. "Well, I can tell you there used to be a lot more of us." Lozen started with Alberta asking "Is that so?"
"Yes. It's this little known collection up north near the border. We weren't much, but we were good at what we did. I kept my head down and they didn't treat me any worse than my master. Then, one of them, who's a very smart man, I'm not saying he isn't, but during one of our business outings, he managed to get some more respectable gentlemen on our tail. I wanted to stay together, but everyone else knew it was best that we split up. That way we'd be able to get rid of those gentlemen. We lost them a few months back, but we also lost the rest of our companions. Now, we just do what we did before. Try and find money where we can."
Lozen was certain that wasn't going to work, but it was the best she thing she had at the moment. Every inch of her was frozen rigid under her clothing and everything that wasn't was braced to run even if it would change nothing. Alberta gave no indications as to what her opinion or intentions were and the dead silence that filled the car made every single atom of air feel like a dozen daggers dancing across her skin.
For what felt like an eternity, the entire room was frozen so perfectly in place it was as if time itself had decided to take a pause. Everything felt like it wanted to kill Lozen, but had been frozen in place at the mere gaze of Alberta Finch. Only her fingers moved, rapping lightly across the arms of her chair as her eyes danced over Lozen's body, the wheels in her head spinning like saws.
After an excruciating minute of quiet contemplation, Alberta said in a much calmer voice than Lozen expected "Then I apologize for any additional troubles I have caused you." Lozen refrained from letting out a breath of relief and instead said "It's quite alright, madam. We're used to it. I can see you like to keep things orderly around here."
"Well, in my line of work-" Before Alberta finished, her eyes fly up to the back door of the car as it flew open. A pair of heavy boots hammered across the floor as they marched around Lozen and made their way towards the patron. They hunched over and whispered something into her ear with not a single expression taking root from what he said. Lozen tried keeping herself composed as she saw Alberta mutter something back into the guards ear before saying out loud "Excuse me, madam. It appears I have other matters to attend to. You will have to return to the passengers cars."
Lozen stayed seated for a second to disguise the fact that she was more than happy to get out of the car and then slowly stood herself up as she said "Understood. Thank you for your-" Before she could finish, Alberta cut her off with a slight wave of her hand and said "Please. There is no need for that. In fact, as a sign of good will, allow my men to escort you back to your compartment." At that, Lozen heard the sound of footsteps start marching up behind her and stopped just at the back of her chair.
A million thoughts raced through her mind, especially as she heard the clicks of the guns ring out behind her. "There's no need for that. I can find my way back to my own compartment well enough, but the offer is-"
"Oh, but I insist. It's number 208, correct?"
"Yes. However-"
"My dear, if you will not do it for your own sake, then do it for mine. I still don't know too much about you and I hate having an unknown element roaming my train unsupervised. And please, don't make my request a demand. I'd hate to dirty my car." Her voice and eyes narrowed as she finished and sent Lozen's mind into a momentary spiral. She didn't need an escort to get here and that was before the patron knew anything about her. The only reason she could think of for that to change would be if guns needed to be involved.
"Thank you, madam. You're too kind." Lozen added, pus he scrambling to find a way out of this, but the clicks of weaponry behind her cut short whatever plan she could have hoped to envision. With that, she started making her way towards the back door, each step painstakingly slow and feeling as if it would be her last. A part of her relished in the fact that she was still inside the patrons car. At least there, the guards wouldn't want to make a mess. Before long, however, she found herself crossing over to the storage car on being dragged behind it.
Her heart was readying to exploded as she stepped inside, a feeling of absolute horror being pumped through her veins and the voice in her head screaming gibberish. But it couldn't be like this. There were still people waiting for her. So start thinking.
The door closed behind them, locking all three of them inside the storage compartment. Perfect. This was her chance. Those rifles were powerful, but in confined spaces like this, it would take a while to ready them. If she could disable one of them, then she could grab the others gun. They had a good fifty pounds on her, but their thrashing as she went for the weapon would provide her enough time to and-"Wow. That has got to be the fastest things have ever blown up for me. What was that? Five-seven minutes?"
Lozen's eyes refocused on the scene in front of her and saw, much to her disappointment and relief, a figure wrapped in cloth standing at the other end of the narrow corridor cutting through the crates. He too was flanked by a duo of armed men, but they seemed less scary and more pitiful now that her big gun was here. "So, what did you do?" Judas asked, his tone and body language making it look like he was more annoyed than frightened, which was a fact Lozen just then realized was becoming normal for her.
"Not the time." Lozen said as she gestured to the guards behind her. "No, I think it's precisely the ti-Oooooooooooo. Right, right, right. I keep forgetting you've got the whole 'don't wanna die' thing going on." Judas said as the guards behind him started to aim their weapons. Lozen's back prickled with fear as she heard the same clicks of machinery right behind her and in a moment of pure instinct, cried out as she reached for her weapon "Kill mine!!"
She had no idea if Judas would understand the plea, but at this point she didn't have any other choice. The rifles behind Judas were pointed at his back and she doubted the ones behind her own would be any different. Only one person could kill them before they gunned her down and she prayed he had enough of a brain to know what to do.
Everything slowed to a grind as she tore her pistol out of the holster and swung it up to her hip. She fired at the first guard in front of her, smashed a hand down onto the hammer, and fired once again at the other before either of the men could fire a single shot. As she did, two more shots rang out through the air, sending a bolt of blue fire and air rushing past either side of her head.
It was all over in an instant and instead of bursts of pain rushing through her gut, Lozen only felt the ground beneath her shake as four bodies dropped to the floor. Everything seemed to stand still, even the very air itself refused to move an inch and the only object that broke such stillness wouldn't stop racing against her ribs.
Lozen let out a small breath as more of an attempt to relax herself than anything else as she felt the atmosphere shimmer down. Though, she kept her gun raised and ready just like Judas did, but the relief of being alive wasn't enough to prevent her from coming to a few more conclusions.
"What did you do?" She asked, recalling the guard that had whispered in Alberta's ear right before she sent her kill squad out to take care of them.
"Oh no! You ain't blaming this on me!! All I did was order a cup of coffee!" Judas cried back to which Lozen said "Judas, what were the exact words you used while ordering this cup of coffee?"
"How should I know? Do you honestly expect me to memorize every word I've-"
"Eleven herbs and spices of yes."
"Yeah. I realized it as soon as I started talking. But what can you expect from-"
"Judas."
"Fine. I said, 'What is this shrill you have brought me!? I have been taken under the wing by one of the many fine people on this locomotive vehicle-"
"It's just locomotive."
"I know, but I was in the middle of a moment."
"Whatever. I take it after you were done eviscerating some poor, underpaid waiter-"
"Oh yeah. That guy ran out crying like a bitch."
"You then, in a bid to not only justify your outbursts and catch the attention of the people around you, you proceeded to blurt out the name of your employer in the hope that you would either confuse them into thinking you were hired some mysterious recluse of wealth and prestige or get lucky and guess someone's actual name."
Judas paused for a split second before saying "I'm not that predictable, right?"
"What was the name?"
"I mean, I put a lot of time into this-"
"Jebediah, what was the name?"
"Charles Foster. Why?"
Lozen sucked in and let out another tiny breath before saying "And did it not occur to you at all that they might be asking me the name of our supposed employer as well?"
"Not really? Why would they ask the Injun slave?"
"Because I was the Injun slave! The weakest link and therefore the likeliest to crack under pressure! Do you not know how interrogations work!?"
"Nah. People usually tell me what I want after seeing this mug."
"Well your little boast almost got me killed!"
"Oh please. How could-"
"Because when two people give different names for the same person, it's pretty obvious that they're lying!! Why couldn't you have just kept your mouth shut?!!"
"I think you already know the answer to that."
Lozen groaned and slap a hand against her forehead before taking one more long breath. "Okay. So here's the plan." She said, trying to distract herself from the astounding incompetency in front of her, but it still insisted on responding.
"Sure. How about I just go in there, guns-"
"No!" She felt herself bursting out, the purest spite and hatred soaking into everyone of her words.
"No! We are not bargaining in there guns blazing again!! This time, we are doing things my way!! Got it?!"
"Sure. And why don't you make-"
Before he could finish, Lozen said "Then maybe you would like to spend the rest of our journey either sitting in Beatrice's stomach, or in a hole in the ground!!"
"Please. You wouldn't-"
"Wouldn't I!? You can't risk killing me and you'll never die no matter what I do!! So the way I see it, if I decided to chop you up into individual bones and throw each of them into the engine, one by one, there's nothing stopping me from doing so!! If you were disappointed by death, then I'll gladly introduce you to hell!! So sit down, shut it, and listen up because so help my God, you are going to do exactly as I say of I will make you wish you could die all over again!! Is! That! Clear!?"
She was huffing and puffing like a madman by the end of her tirade , but she didn't care in the least. Judas had frozen himself stiff and for the first time in a while, sustained silence for more than a handful of seconds. Taking that as a sign he was listening, Lozen spat out one final spite dripping with venom "I thought so."
She then sucked in another breath of air and said after one long exhale "Okay. So here's the plan."