"This is Leadville," the hunter´s finger pointed at the big mark in the west from Denver.
"It´s located in a quite high altitude…" Kame noted, observing the worn-out, but very detailed map of Colorado spread across the flat stone near the fire, which light allowed them to see it, as it was already after dark.
"Correct," Harvey nodded. "It was founded at the first convenient place closest to the mines."
"How long will it take us to get there?" the younger one wondered.
"From here, we should be there tomorrow evening; we made quite a progress today," the older man replied.
"You talked about the mines; where are those?" Kame kept studying the map, to become familiar with the area.
"Here, further in the north," the hunter indicated the small dots. "As far as I know, three of them are currently opened. A few miles further, there´re several closed ones as well."
"So the workers have to cope with quite a long way down the mountains with the excavated material, right?"
"That´s right," the man confirmed, eying the younger one.
"Why don´t we expect any ambush on this road then?" Kame asked, pointing at the thin line.
"The raw silver would have been useless for the gang; I doubt there´re many mints which would accept it for forging without a special permission," Harvey explained.
"Tabor has this permission then?"
"Exactly. As I said; he owns the mines. Any silver-greedy thieves need to wait until the metal is recreated into coins and other stuff, before they can make their move."
"I see…" Kame nodded, pondering if there was any proper reason for the Riders to go after so much money, or if they really were just greedy.
"The whole process ends with the money deliveries to Denver or Leadville, or other cities, and the Riders are focused on getting their hands on those," the hunter finished his explanation speech.
"You seem to be informed a way better than I would expect," the younger one stated slowly.
"I have my resources," Harvey reacted evasively, folding the map up.
"Meaning there´s even more information leaks than Tabor probably knows himself, right?" Kame assumed quickly, noticing a glimpse of unsatisfied expression at the hunter´s face.
"You might say that… Anyway, since Tabor has his interests in both Denver and Leadville and also the significant inputs in both cities´ banks, the cash deliveries are under his thumb as well. And there will be a huge super-secret delivery to the Bank of Leadville soon. Not much silver in general, but money from its sale. I don´t know when exactly it´s supposed to happen though… This information is really sensitive."
"How are we going to find it out then? Do you intend to force the local banker to tell you?" Kame raised his eyebrows skeptically.
Harvey blinked surprised: "Exactly… You´re not stupid, kid."
Kame ignored the mocking tone of the older man´s voice, added some wood to the fire and shifted the pan with their dinner closer.
"The gang of Riders might have the same idea," he noted then.
"I didn´t really think about that…" Harvey murmured, grabbing the flask with water. "I assume they know about that delivery, but they would not have risked putting too much pressure on the banker; he might have warned Tabor in advance then."
"That´s true," Kame admitted.
"Anyway… We´ll check out the situation in the city first, then I will visit our dear banker and we will see… Is the dinner ready yet?" the hunter turned the attention to the meat on the pan, which was an obvious end of their discussion. Even though Kame would like to know more. For example, what made Harvey think that the banker would talk to him at all.
***
Everybody already finished their dinner by the time Koki was almost done with his narration. Only Jin couldn´t eat a thing no matter how tasty the grilled pork and fresh bread looked like. His throat and also stomach were gripped by something hard, something what he would rather not name.
The blonde Rider drank from his tankard, obviously thirsty, also reminding the others that they could swallow a little of that tasty bitter liquid, which was waiting for them somewhat forgotten. Eleven Black Riders with their young leader, plus Oswald – the cottage´s owner, plus Jin; all together fourteen men, they were sitting around the huge fireplace, wordlessly absorbing the information they had just received.
This time, Leo insisted on Jin being present during the conversation as well, and nobody had any complaints, but at that moment Jin thought that it would have been better if he had not been there.
He didn´t know what to think about Koki Tanaka yet. He seemed to be more open to the strangers than the rest of the gang, as he didn´t even touch his gun while shaking hands with Jin, and he smiled a lot despite the difficult weeks he had been through. The blonde one´s story covered something over one month, since he got separated from his fellows, was captured and interrogated.
As far as Jin understood, Koki got involved with a riot in one quarry, where the workers asked him for help, but they were exposed before the actual change of management. He didn´t mention what happened before to make the other Riders think he was dead, but it didn´t matter at the moment. There was something else resonating in Jin´s head.
"For my luck, there was one guy who helped me to escape," Koki spoke again, to complete the information. "He didn´t seem to be fond of those two bastards either... Right after that I headed to Leadville, where they told me you had already left, so I headed here, hoping you didn´t change the safe house meanwhile."
"It´s great to have you back, man," Ryo spoke first, clinging with his glass to Koki´s. The others followed his example except for Jin, who was still sitting in his place, motionless and lost in dark thoughts.
"Tell me about it," Koki huffed, after he put the empty tankard away. "They seemed to be already tired with me not saying the correct things. Leo, we should be aware of them, I mean it."
"How much were they interested about us?" the Riders´ leader asked frowning.
"A lot. By the form of their questions, they´re quite interested in Tabor´s silver as well, and they do not like our involvement."
"I don´t like their involvement with you either," Leo snorted quite upset.
"We have a lot to deal with to care about some greedy bastards in Fort Collins," Esler said in a serious tone.
"I know that, Cullen. But that doesn´t mean I will let it go," Leo reacted coldly.
"Don´t worry about that now, Chief," Koki grinned a little forcefully. "I won´t forget their faces so easily…"
Leo reached out and patted the blonde one´s shoulder nodding, but didn´t seem satisfied. Ryo got up to bring more beer for everyone, while Esler moved to make their fire livelier. Then Leo turned to his brother and immediately noticed that something was wrong with him.
"Jin? Are you all right?" he asked, observing the older one´s stiff features.
Hearing the worried question, Jin tried hard to shake his numbness off, but he was not very successful. He drank from his glass of beer, which already lost its cool temperature, hoping it would help to clear his mind.
"You´re awfully pale," the younger Akanishi continued. "What is it?"
"It´s just that… Those men… Cameron and… Grenet," he spoke with difficulties and quietly, but despite that everybody´s attention including curious Koki focused on him. "I know them," Jin managed to say in the end.
"How?" Leo asked confused, while Esler stabbed the older Akanishi with his eyes suspiciously.
"Not another ones of your friends, I hope," the gunman snorted.
Jin´s stomach clutched heavily remembering the wounds all over his body, which made themselves known from time to time. He still felt all those blows, he still smelled his own muscles burning, he still heard that awful laughing, he still remembered the taste of his own blood…
"No," he reacted in such a tone, that the cynical smirk disappeared from Cullen´s face immediately. "They´re not my friends."
Also Ryo got back to his place then, so they were all around the fire again, all of them listening. But Jin didn´t see their stares, drowning in his memories and trying hard to focus on talking.
"Grenet is a fugitive. He escaped from prison just a day before he would have been hanged on the gallows," he informed the gang gloomily. "He and Cameron were both subordinates of Raynold Karnaka and neither of them exactly likes me," Jin explained shortly, staring into the flames, which seemed to be a safer target for his eyes than anything else.
Most of the Riders seemed to know the rich old man, but some were confused.
"Who´s Karnaka?" Ryo was the one to ask.
"Awfully rich and powerful rancher in Montana. Our father was working for him before he killed our mother and then himself," Leo was the one answering the question with a voice filled with disgust, while some of his companions exchanged knowing looks.
"And he had also caused my best friend´s death," Jin added quietly.
"What happened then?" the black-haired youngster asked obviously shocked by the information.
"I helped him out to meet his own end," the older Akanishi replied.
The silence in the circle around the fire was somewhat sympathetic then, even Esler let go of his hostile stare, to Jin´s relief. He had quite enough to handle with himself at the moment, anxious about the fact that Grenet was in Colorado…
Leo seemed to sense there was something more in Karnaka´s history. He didn´t let his eyes off him, but didn´t push Jin to speak further in front of the others. He took the word instead.
"Well… If we have a chance, they will get what they deserve, but as Cullen said, for now we have more important things to do."
"I understand that, Leo," Koki assured him, while still also eyeing the other Akanishi curiously. "It´s not like I´m eager to see them again any time soon."
"Who did you talk to in Leadville?" the Rider´s leader asked then.
"The old man, in the tavern."
"Did he send any message?"
Koki shook his head negatively: "He said there was nothing new."
"That´s not good," Leo frowned unsatisfied. "They should arrange that delivery any day now."
"I´m still not sure we can rely on the word of that steward," Cullen reminded pessimistically.
"His information was all precise till now," Leo shrugged.
"You have a spy among Tabor´s people?" Jin asked, trying hard to occupy his mind with anything apart from the memories full of pain.
Surprisingly, it was Esler, who replied his question: "Yeah, one black servant of his. He seems to hate Tabor to death and he offered us help when we ambushed the first carriage, which he was accompanying."
"He always sends us a telegram, one or two days before the delivery happens," Ryo added.
"But it seems Tabor is more careful this time and he doesn´t have that info yet," Esler noted.
"Probably," Leo agreed.
"Shouldn´t we get back to Leadville then?" Ryo proposed. "To watch over the bank directly?"
"That would have been too late for any action," Leo denied. "The security in that building is too tough. Let´s spare us any unnecessary troubles… We expect them to use the old road, so our position is more convenient here than anywhere else."
Nobody questioned the young Akanishi´s decision.
"So? For how much longer will we wait?" Esler asked, looking at Leo.
"One more day," the leader said. "If we do not receive the message till tomorrow evening, we will set up the watches along the road."
"All right," Esler nodded, with the other Riders murmuring agreement as well.
Jin watched as the atmosphere eased up quickly, when Ryo poured more beer to everyone; the serious discussion was over for the moment, but unfortunately, his dark mood didn´t seemed to be leaving so easily…
***
Kame watched sulkily as Harvey disappeared in the stylish entrance of the ´Bank of Leadville´ building. The bounty hunter insisted on visiting the banker alone. Kame was pretty sure that his presence would not make any big difference, when the hunter wanted to force the master of coins to talk. But since the two of them would have probably attracted some unwanted attention, he didn´t resist when Harvey gave the reins of his horse over to him. It would be stupid to lose this chance to gain the precious information related to the money delivery just because of useless argument. But still, he felt like he was being played around like a foolish boy and he didn´t like it.
As the space in front of the bank was crowded with horses and carriages during that morning hour, he needed to relocate Ukushi and Harvey´s animal to the opposite side of the street, under the shelter belonging to some shop. He gripped the bridles firmly and checked both sides carefully first, already aware that Leadville was very lively even in comparison with Denver.
He was quite impressed when they had arrived there late at night of the previous day and found the streets still full of people and lights. A proper accommodation for not-too-high price was not a problem either, excluding the fact that Harvey covered the costs, proposing that he would deduct them from Kame´s part of the reward later. Not that the younger one would have any other choice but to agree.
Thoughtful and in a bad mood, Kame set off across the street which seemed to be free now, but unfortunately, at the very same moment a rider appeared from behind the corner and turned just barely in front of Kame on such a furiously riding mare that both horses, which he led, went wild.
Kame almost couldn´t hold them down, just his countless experiences and Ukushi´s quickly regained calmness prevented Harvey´s stallion from escaping somewhere into the city.
The crazy rider had probably noticed the troubles, which he had caused and stopped the mare, turning back in the saddle. Only then, Kame noticed that it was a female rider – a brown-haired pretty woman with wild, almond-shaped eyes.
"I´m sorry, handsome!" she called to him. "I´m in a hurry!"
Kame just nodded, accepting the apology and kept soothing Harvey´s animal in a calming way until the female rider disappeared in rush of the main street.
At least she apologized… Kame thought, sinking into even worse mood than before, as he tied the reins over the pole prepared for that purpose. But what the hell everybody has with those nicknames for me?
*
It was a damn long waiting and Kame, despite his strong ability to keep his composure, didn´t bother to cover his annoyance, when Harvey finally appeared.
"Don´t stare like that, man… Seems our Mister Banker has some issues with his creditors and it took a while before I could speak with him," the hunter justified himself.
Kame could not care less about any excuses. He didn´t exactly have the reason for such grumpy attitude, but he just couldn´t shake it off.
"Have you got what we need?" he asked sharply.
"Of course, I do. I keep my word, Kamenashi."
"So?"
"Well… It´s not absolutely urgent, but I suppose we should move our asses now," Harvey replied, already mounting on his stallion.
"Meaning?" Kame asked stubbornly, waiting for more information.
"It´s supposed to happen this afternoon…" there was a response from the grinning hunter.
Kame´s heart jumped a little bit at the idea they might come across the Riders so soon. He got up to the saddle quickly, following the hunter on the way through the lively street. But despite his excitement, he was still bothered with how it was possible that Harvey found out that information so damn easily.
***
"Hey, Leo, may I have a word with you? Privately?"
Jin almost couldn´t sleep during the night, thinking over and over the situation with the Riders and Grenet, and in the end, he decided to at least warn Leo in advance. He just couldn´t keep silent since he knew more than well, what those men were capable of.
"Of course," the younger Akanishi nodded and followed him out of the cottage.
They were walking slowly toward the glade Jin had discovered a day before, keen silence upon both of them. Once they reached that nice place, Jin fished the cigarettes out of his pocket, offering to his brother.
"You´re making me worried now, Brother," Leo raised his eyebrows, but picked one from the package anyway.
"I just want you to promise me something," Jin started slowly, after the first inhalation went through his throat and lungs, while the younger one was observing him sharply.
"Depends on what it is," Leo reacted, already enjoying the rare pleasure as well.
Jin faced his brother directly, to emphasize his words by looking into the other´s eyes.
"Stay out of Math Grenet´s way no matter what happens," he stated seriously.
"I do not exactly intend to bother with that man any more than will be necessary," Leo frowned confused. "But why do you ask for this?"
"Because I want to settle accounts with him myself," Jin reacted.
Leo observed him for a while, before he sat down at the same fallen tree, as Jin did before.
"What else happened on that farm?" his little brother asked quietly then.
Jin stood there a little numb. Forgetting about his cigarette completely, he wondered what might have been the best – to keep quiet or to tell his brother the truth. What might have keep Leo away from Grenet more…
"That man is an insane bastard and you have enough of your own problems. If we come across him, I want you to leave him for me. Keep even that friend of yours back. I´m asking you for this, little Brother."
"What did he do to you, Jin?" Leo kept asking, not really paying attention to the pleading tone of his voice, piercing the older brother with his eyes obstinately.
Jin sighed heavily: "We have some unfinished business…"
The younger one studied him for a long while, before he finished his cigarette and spoke again: "Were you tortured by him?"
"What? How did you…?" Jin stared at his brother surprised.
"I saw you washing yourself this morning," Leo explained slowly. "Those scars all over your back… You didn´t have them before."
Well, that was not so surprising. Jin had spent several whole days with the Riders now; it was only a question of time before some of them would have noticed that. But nobody would have asked about it, except his brother of course.
"Damn it," he murmured, grinding the rest of his cigarette to the ground.
"I hit the point then," Leo assumed and his eyes narrowed.
"Yeah," the older one admitted. "It was… I was exposed and… Well, I think you can imagine they were not happy with me trying to assassinate Karnaka," Jin focused his eyes on the nearest tree. "If not for Kame I´d have been dead already…" he added heavily.
"Kame?" the younger one repeated questioningly. "That friend you had told me about before?"
Jin nodded: "He got me out of there and then his Indian friends cured me. I owe them a lot."
Leo stood up, placed his hand on Jin´s shoulder and squeezed it firmly.
"All right… I understand. But I won´t give you that promise," he said slowly.
Jin took a breath: "But, you can´t…!"
"I want you to promise me something instead," the younger one didn´t care about his objections and kept talking. "You will not go against that man alone. You will let us help you," he stated strictly.
Jin was lost on words for a moment, staring at his younger brother: "Leo…"
"I won´t let you go until you give that promise. Don´t you think I´d like to kick the ass of the bastard who hurt my brother?"
After that statement, Jin felt incredibly better than for the past few hours. It was so damn good to have somebody who took care of you, to have your family, no matter if it was one person or ten.
"Thanks, little Brother…"
"Too soon for that," the younger one grinned.
"Leo! Leo!" the urgent voice approaching them disturbed the precious moment, as Ryo came out running from behind the trees. "Jane is here! The telegram came! They will do it today!"
"Well… Seems we have a job to do," Leo looked at his older brother again.
And Jin, still with that warm feeling in his chest, just nodded.