Sean inched back a bit more from Mr. Danvers but stayed in his position to deter him from running. His eyes darted from Mark to Bob as Bob answered Mark with a shrug. "I don't know. Sounds like an odd thing to invest in." Sean then chimed in quickly. "Unless the Iron Hills bank doesn't know what fools gold is. He could cash it in for the price of real gold. At least until the bank discovered it." Mark shifted uncomfortably, keeping his rifle aimed at Mr. Danvers. Mr. Danvers stood calmer now, asking in a curious tone. "You aren't working for the mayor, are you, Sheriff?" Mark gripped his gun tighter, narrowing his eyes on the man as he snarled back. "That shouldn't be your biggest concern right now." Mr. Danvers shrugged, looking them over with distasteful eyes upon replying coolly. "I'm a businessman, Sheriff. I provide a service to those that can afford me. If I rolled over for every man that has ever pulled a gun on me, I wouldn't be as feared as I am. As you well know. I don't fear death. Given the chance I'm confident that I could make death a deal." Bob rolled his eyes, when Nathan moved into the doorway of the train with papers in his hands.

Flipping through them, Nate bitterly told Mark. "Those slaves were headed to Iron Hills, Mark. Bought in full by the mayor." Staring down Mr. Danvers, Mark asked him sharply. "Why does the mayor want slaves?" Mr. Danvers shrugged carelessly, until Mark stepped closer and cocked back the hammer on his rifle with a loud 'click.' Mr. Danvers' eyes locked eyes with more out of the corner of his own, before telling him seriously. "He doesn't have them now that you freed them. Not that they will get far. So, why should I tell you?" Mark pointed the barrel of the gun at eye level to him, growling back. "Because if you don't and I'll start putting holes in you. The non-lethal kind. It will just hurt a whole lot." Bob nodded, slipping in smugly. "Might even get infected. Or cripple you for life. You'll spend your fortune on medical bills." Mr. Danvers' eyes drifted to Sean as he whispered to Mark in a silky tone. "Tell you what. Compensate me for my loss by giving me that young Irish lad of yours, and I'll tell you anything you want to know." The others tensed, while Mark blurted out angrily. "What?! Not a chance in hell!" Bob raised an eyebrow, asking suspiciously. "Why, Sean?"

Mr. Danvers openly answered with a small smug smirk. "Because he's Irish. The big cities pay good money for Irish workers. Especially, the strong young ones. Factories are being built and they need to be run. The Asians and Indians aren't much good with that stuff. But the Irish are stubborn and strong willed. They tend to work harder when one of their own is pushed. Just the type for hard labor." Tossing the papers, Nathan hopped down from the train car and withdrew his gun to aim at Mr. Danvers as he snapped out loudly. "You son of a-!" Mark cut him off by yelling out louder than him. "NATE! Stand down!" Mr. Danvers peaked over his shoulder at Nathan, before turning his eyes back on Sean and adding teasingly. "Yes... I'd guess that I could make up for about half the slaves I had with just him alone. He's got some strong arms and legs on him." Nathan cocked back the hammer on his gun. Mark called Nate's name, but Nate didn't hesitate. He lowered his gun and shot Mr. Danvers in the thigh. The sudden 'BANG' causing Sean to jump in surprise.

Letting out a distressed cry, Mr. Danvers fell to his knees and angrily yelled out. "You shot me! You filthy half-breed! I'll clap you in irons and let the wolves fuck your worthless dead carcass!" Nathan cocked the hammer back again and aimed for Mr. Danvers' head as he growled out. "Keep running your mouth and put a bullet through your tongue." Mark lowered his rifle, scolding Nathan darkly. "Damn it, Nathan! Stop!" Bob let out a low whistle, then mumbled out to himself. "Holy shit..." Mark tried to bring the attention back to himself, by asking a bit uneasily now. "Mr. Danvers, just answer my question! What does he want with them?!" Mr. Danvers locked cold eyes on Mark, spitting out bitterly. "Go fuck yourself with a rattlesnake. I'm not telling you a damn thing." Nathan adjusted his stance to stood again, but the shot missed because Sean roped Mr. Danvers around the neck and yanked him flat to the ground. All eyes turned to Sean in shock. Sean casually took the end of the rope and wrapped it around the horn of Bob's saddle.

Mr. Danvers struggled to look at him since his hands were still tied behind his back, but his eyes went wide as Sean leaned his weight against the horse to make it shift forward. In just two steps, the rope went tight and pulled at Mr. Danvers throat, causing him to squeal out. "What are doing?! Don't do that!" Sean eased the horse another step or two, calmly telling Mr. Danvers as he observed the horse. "Better start talking. We are going to have to bolt soon... You ever seen a man that has been dragged by his neck after a horse has run at full speed for a few miles, Mr. Danvers?" Mr. Danvers started to sputter as the rope tightened more around his neck, until he wailed out. "OK! The mayor paid me in full for the slaves! He said he was building something and needed the extra hands. So, I sold him cheap laborers." Mark lowered his rifle, casually prodding him on. "Ya? What is he building?" Mr. Danvers' voice came out strained when he rushed out. "I don't know! The old bastard wouldn't say! He just said he needed them by tonight in order to be done before the end of the week! That's all, I swear!"

Nathan put his own gun away on his hip, asking curiously. "He hasn't ordered anything else from you? Just the slaves? No supplies for whatever he is building?" Mr. Danvers coughed a little, straining out gruffly now. "Just the pyrite. But I heard tales of him trying to buy shotguns from a man in the next town... That's all I know! I swear! Please! I swear!" Wade let out a loud whistle, running toward them as he called out. "Riders! They are coming! We gotta move!" Nathan nodded to Bob to start heading for their horses. Mark quickly pulled the lasso off Mr. Danvers but left him on the ground. Beckoning Sean to follow him to their horses, Sean heard Mr. Danvers snap out to him. "You boys will regret this! You hear me you bastards! If the law doesn't find you first! MY MEN WILL!" Quickly swinging up onto his horse, Mark yelled out to them. "Split up and meet at the hideout! Nate! Sean! With me!" Sean stirred his horse to follow Mark as their horses dashed off across the plain. Bob and Wade ventured off in the opposite direction of them, leaving Sean confused. Mark seemed to be leading them far off into the wilderness. He had thought that their meeting spot was an abandoned church in the next town.

Sean didn't say a word and only glanced back to make sure that Nathan was still following them. Once they reached a few miles out, Mark veered his horse into a narrow stream toward the next town and Sean smirked. He was slowly picking up on how bandits kept giving the lawmen the run around. Mark slowed enough to ride beside them now, telling them over the thundering of hooves. "They should lose our trail in this area. Just stay in the water until we reach the old mill." Sean had no idea what he was talking about. He had never ventured beyond Iron Hills. Nathan nodded though, adjusting his horse to linger back from them a bit. Once the old windmill on the outskirts of town came into view, Mark steered his horse out of the stream and up onto the road. Passing the little cabin, they rode on until they came upon a half burned and abandoned church set on a hill and nestled in the shade of the woods. Slowing their horses as they trotted around the graveyard wall, Mark told them in a low voice. "Looks like we beat Bob and Wade here. We'll hole up in the church with the horses. Then we'll ride into town together and get a room for the night.

Nathan glanced around, before telling Mark seriously. "Hang on, Mark. Maybe you should stay and wait for them. While Sean and I get the rooms." Mark flashed him a defensive look, but Nathan calmly informed him. "It will look suspicious if we all ride in together. We should ride into town in small groups. It draws less attention. Plus... The kid looks tired. No sense in us waiting here. The horses will make too much noise together in there." Mark looked to Sean who could barely keep his eyes open, but he was trying. The adrenaline he'd had was gone and left him exhausted from all the excitement. Smirking to himself, Mark reluctantly told Nathan lightly. "Alright. But don't let him out of your sight. I mean it, Nate." Nathan tipped his black hat, then reached out to grab the reins of Sean's horse to led it. Sean hadn't noticed that his horse was drifting away in his loose grip, until Nathan tugged his horse to follow him. Chuckling, Nathan purred back at him. "Don't fall off your horse there, farm boy. Come on." Sean gripped the horn of his saddle, letting Nathan take over steering of his animal. He could barely sit up now.

By the time they rode up to the hitching posts outside the inn, Sean was laying across his horse's neck. Collecting their bags, Nathan carefully pulled Sean down and hefted him up in his arms to carry him inside. The older woman at the front desk looked terrified at the sight of Sean limply draped across Nathan's arms, until Nathan joked out to her. "It's his first trip across the country. Poor kid did his best." The older woman laughed, fetching a key from the wall as she told him. "Ah, you had me worried there. I was about to fetch the doctor. Follow me. I have a comfy room you can set him up in." Following her up the stairs, Nathan tried hard not to drop Sean. His arms were getting tired from carrying him and the bags. Opening the room for them, Nathan stumbled in and roughly dropped Sean on the bed. The woman gasped as Nate fell to the floor, but Sean had made it onto the bed. The noise didn't even wake Sean. He simply rolled over and let out a soft sigh. Shaking off the bags, Nathan dusted himself off and laughed heartily with the woman. Tossing Nate the key, she chuckled out. "Just like my son. He could sleep through his bed getting tossed about in a tornado."

Shaking his head with a smile, Nathan pulled off Sean's boots as he asked her hopefully. "Does this place have a hot bath and a stiff drink?" The woman nodded, pointing across the hall as she told him with a lascivious grin. "That we do, Cowboy. You want me to send one of my girls in to help you? Or two? You look like you have a lot of stamina." Blushing, Nathan shook his head, but stopped to ask her wickedly in a whisper in passing. "Out of curiosity. How much would one of your girls cost? And... how good are they with virgins?" The woman tilted her head back with pride, purring out. "Virgins get a discount. Though I can tell you aren't one, honey." Nathan snorted, before discreetly telling her. "She's not for me." Both their eyes turned to a sleeping Sean. Looking him over, the woman bit her lip and cooed out. "He's cute. I think I know just the woman for him. Has a good history with the shy ones. When do you want her?" Nathan leaned in to answer close to her ear, then closed the door. The old woman watched him walk to the washroom, fanning herself as she told him with a smile. "I'll let her know."

Sean groaned to the sound of a squeaking sound and low groans. Lifting his head off his arm, he took in the dark room, then jerked upright as a woman wailed out in a distant room. "YES! Harder!" He felt the color drain from his face as he realized where he was. Nathan had taken him to a brothel inn. The curtains were open in his room to reveal how dark it was outside, but the moon was full and bright. He was almost mesmerized by it, until the door opened, causing him to hop off the bed. In his rush, he stumbled and fell into the corner of the room as Nathan entered with just his pants on. His hair was dripping wet, and he had a towel over his exposed shoulder. Taking in Sean's timid state, Nathan chuckled out to him. "You alright?" Sean shook his head, mumbling out nervously. "Why did you bring me here?" Nathan shrugged, casually informing him. "They ask less questions here. A regular inn would take our names and remember our faces. Brothels don't care who their customers are. It's safer here." Sean shook his head, his blush burning across the tips of his ears as a loud moan resounded down the hall. Nathan started drying his hair, completely unfazed by the sounds of sex. He looked so... at home in a place like this.

Straightening up to his full height in the corner, Sean wondered if brothels reminded Nathan of his mother. He tried to imagine growing up in a place like this, but the thought made him uncomfortable. Nathan unbuckled his gun holster to drape it on a chair and Sean looked at every scar across his back in the glow of the moon streaming in through the window. As his eyes followed some down to his lower back, Sean forced himself to look away. Nathan gestured to the door, telling him calmly. "If you want a hot bath, you should do it now. You won't get many chances and it will sooth your muscles from all the work we did today." Sean didn't move or answer, drawing Nathan's attention to him. Looking him over, Nate told him comfortingly. "You don't have to be afraid. The door locks. Go. You smell like horse sweat." Sean scowled at him but didn't deny that he did. Forcing himself to head out to the washroom that Nathan pointed out to him. Slipping inside, Sean closed the door and locked the two bolt locks. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his racing heart. He didn't know why he was so scared of this place, but it made him as tense as a cat in a room full of sleeping dogs.

After a minute, he turnedaround and jumped back against the door. Sitting on a stool behind the steaming tub was a half-naked woman. She wore a green and black lacy corset with asilky green thong and garters that held up black stockings. Her long deep red hair hanging down oneshoulder as she smiled wickedly at him and purred out in a thick Scottish accent. "Hello there, Laddy. I'm Helena." To Be Continued...