“…”
“Mayor.”
Billy approached Luke, who was sitting on the ground in a daze.
For Billy, Luke, the mayor of San Francisco and the leader of the South Brotherhood, had always been a strong and unshakable person.
To see him sitting so helplessly on the ground…
Billy felt a pang in his heart as he spoke.
“It’s not over yet. We can still catch the Kid.”
“…”
“If we order the state troops to block the railroad tracks and ask other states and cities for help in stopping the train in the mayor’s name…”
“Enough.”
“…What?”
“I said it’s done. He’s already left San Francisco… and he said he won’t come back, so there’s no need to chase him.”
But Luke was extremely reluctant to chase after the Kid to the end.
Billy, who couldn’t understand Luke’s attitude, pressed him more urgently than usual.
“Mayor! What are you talking about? The Kid is our sworn enemy!”
“Billy, I think you’re mistaken. Our sworn enemy isn’t the Kid.”
Luke, with an indifferent expression, stood up and replied.
“Our sworn enemy is the TKK, where the Kid is.”
“…But Mayor, the TKK…”
“Yes, they’ve been disbanded.”
The TKK, once known as the worst organization in the West, had fought a war with the South Brotherhood for control of San Francisco.
The winner was the South Brotherhood.
After that, the TKK’s key members were eliminated, and the organization fell apart.
This was all Billy knew.
But Luke seemed to think differently.
“They’re like cockroaches. They’re probably still crawling around somewhere in the West.”
A look of deep disgust appeared on Luke’s face.
“And they’re fanatics. If they hear that their ‘Jesus’ has returned, they’ll gather back here in San Francisco.”
Ah…
Come to think of it, it’s not Jesus, but Judah.
Luke muttered something under his breath before placing a hand on Billy’s shoulder.
“Of course, I understand the feelings you have toward him. I feel the same way.”
If Billy lost his brother to the Kid, Luke lost countless comrades to him.
Even his comrades who survived the hell of the Civil War couldn’t escape the Kid’s bullets in the back alleys of San Francisco.
As much as Billy wanted to kill him, Luke wanted to tear him apart.
But…
“We have a greater cause to fulfill, don’t we?”
“…!”
“For the sake of that cause, let’s set aside our personal feelings for now.”
The South Brotherhood didn’t have the resources to waste time and effort on the Kid right now.
They had…
A burning ambition they had carried in their hearts since fleeing the South and coming to the West.
“Billy, I’m lifting your indefinite suspension. Return as my chief aide starting today.”
“…Yes.”
Billy, like Luke, temporarily set aside his feelings toward the Kid.
The South Will Rise Again.
Someday, the Confederate flag that flew in San Francisco would wave over their hometown of Richmond, Washington D.C., and even the White House.
But even as Billy tried to forget his feelings toward the Kid, he couldn’t help but think…
That the Kid was a fated enemy they would have to face again someday for the South Brotherhood to rise.
**
Meanwhile, in a quiet, shabby bar in the back alleys of San Francisco…
“…”
“…”
“…”
A group of stern-faced gunslingers had gathered.
But unlike other loud and crude gunslingers, they were solemn, not even glancing at the beer in front of them.
To an outsider, it might have looked like they were attending a weekend church service.
Then, breaking the silence, a gunslinger entered the bar and delivered news to the man sitting at the head of the table.
“We’ve confirmed the deaths of Casey and McCallan.”
“…”
“They were found dumped in a remote forest outside the villa.”
Casey and McCallan.
The two had been tasked with delivering the boss’s letter—a seemingly minor but crucial mission.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a dangerous mission, yet both of them are dead…”
Moreover, the two were among the most skilled in San Francisco, with few equals.
The man at the head of the table pondered for a moment before asking his subordinate about the next matter.
“…Did you identify the member of our group who appeared at the port today?”
“It’s confirmed that he’s not one of ours.”
“Then?”
“…Well.”
The subordinate, who usually reported swiftly, hesitated and stammered, causing the men at the table to exchange puzzled looks.
And their confusion soon turned to…
“…He called himself the Kid.”
“…!!”
Shock.
The Kid.
That single word turned the solemn atmosphere into chaos.
“What the hell…”
“Who on earth…”
“Could it really be him…”
The man at the head of the table silenced them.
“Enough.”
“…”
After closing his eyes for a moment, he opened them and, as if everything had become clear, quietly ordered his subordinates.
“It seems it really is him.”
“…!”
“Notify the boss. We’ve found a lead on him.”
“…Yes, understood.”
The subordinates were struck dumb by the appearance of ‘him,’ whom they dared not even name.
But the man at the head of the table continued the meeting.
“And gather all the brothers and sisters scattered across San Francisco today.”
“…They’re spread out all over, and even if we gather them, there won’t be many. Why are you doing this?”
“We need to choose an enforcer.”
“…!”
Choosing an enforcer.
No one here was unaware of what that meant.
As the atmosphere grew cold, the man slammed his hand on the table and said,
“The rules are…”
“It must be protected at all times. The first rule. Traitors must be killed.”
“……”
“Even if it’s the former boss. That’s the will of the current boss.”
Once known as the worst organization in the West, this place was barely holding on, and the situation was far from easy.
Many members still miss the former boss.
Even though he betrayed and sold out his own people.
To make matters worse, the current second-generation boss is imprisoned, so he hasn’t fully taken control of the organization.
The organization is on the verge of splitting apart, like a crumbling mess.
But even in these tough times, the fact that each of them is an exceptional gunslinger hasn’t changed.
“Tonight, we’ll choose the executioner. The rest of the regular meeting will continue tonight.”
“Yes.”
On their bodies, they all bore a common tattoo: the letter ‘K’.
This is the TKK San Francisco branch.
The parasites Luke despised were still surviving in this city.
**
Meanwhile, at the Pinkerton Agency.
The Pinkerton Agency is always noisy and busy, but today it was even more so.
Amidst the chaos, a woman stepped into the Pinkerton San Francisco branch building.
A beautiful girl who had just turned twenty.
With the poise of a noble and the ruggedness of a street gunslinger, as soon as she entered…
“Ah, my goodness—!!! Miss—!!!”
The busiest man in the San Francisco branch, Ash Gray, rushed out barefoot to greet her.
“…I, I didn’t know you’d return so suddenly—!! If you had let me know in advance, I would have come to pick you up!”
Ash, who looked like a mansion butler, made the girl laugh and wave her hand dismissively.
“Come on, Branch Manager. What’s with the ‘miss’? I’m a full-fledged Pinkerton agent now. Just call me Agent Sophia.”
“…How could I dare call you that, miss?”
“Not ‘miss,’ Agent Sophia.”
“…Yes, Agent Sophia.”
Finally smiling again, Sophia looked around the bustling office and asked.
“Or you can call me Detective Sophia! By the way, Branch Manager! Why is it so busy today? Did something happen?”
“…Ah, about that.”
Ash respectfully reported to Sophia’s question.
“Early this morning, the South Brotherhood blockaded San Francisco, and it was just lifted.”
“…The South Brotherhood blockaded the city? Why?”
“They claimed it was to cooperate with the San Francisco Security Force to catch a dangerous outlaw and maintain order, but they didn’t reveal who the outlaw was.”
“Hoho…”
At the mention of the South Brotherhood, Sophia’s eyes sharpened.
And her gaze…
“Is there no information about that outlaw?”
“From what we’ve gathered… he was wearing TKK clothing.”
“…!”
At the mention of TKK, her eyes grew even sharper.
Those fierce eyes even startled Ash, who had seen it all.
‘Come to think of it, Miss Sophia has always been like this.’
Since childhood, she had been obsessed with catching outlaws, and as soon as she became an adult, she officially became a Pinkerton agent and traveled around to catch them.
Among them, the outlaw she particularly wanted to catch…
“There’s also a lead that he called himself ‘Kid.'”
“…Kid.”
The very one secretly referred to as ‘Kid’ among the Pinkerton leadership.
“…Is there any clue as to where he fled?”
“…Sorry, other than that he went east.”
“East, huh…”
At the mention of Kid heading east, Sophia smiled and said.
“I just came from the east. I went all the way to Lexio County in Utah.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, but there I ran into the Redbeard Gang, a bank robbery gang, and I lost them.”
Of course, she caught other outlaws she met later, but she was deeply regretful about losing the Redbeard Gang.
“Is that so? It’s fine. You can catch outlaws another time. For now, rest from your journey…”
“So I need to head east again.”
“…Huh?”
Thus, having just arrived in San Francisco today, she decided to head east again.
Sophia gave Ash a quick salute and unilaterally announced.
“Branch Manager, Agent Sophia will redeploy to Nevada, Arizona, and Utah to re-hunt the Redbeard Gang!”
Of course, the Redbeard Gang was just an excuse.
Kid.
Sophia had decided to head east again to find clues about that elusive outlaw.
**
Pinkerton, South Brotherhood, TKK.
They were the three major forces that could be called the wild powers of the West.
And the man all three forces were watching…
“…Emma, I lost everything to Uncle Lloyd again.”
“…Didn’t I tell you to stop playing card games? Sigh… We’re almost there, so at least for the final moment…”
“I decided to go for one last big game since we’re almost there. I’ll be back.”
“…Boss, you’re being scammed! Stop! Stop it! They’re trying to take everything from you at the last moment—!!”
After a week-long train journey, they were on the verge of arriving at the final destination.
