Emerald Ranch.
John and Mac pushed through the night and arrived well after midnight.
Despite the hour, lights still burned across Emerald Ranch—a lingering response to the afternoon's attack.
Many ranchers here had some form of moonshine partnership with Davey. No one could ignore a business that profitable.
But what happened today rattled them. After what befell Garris, they feared their own ranches might be next.
Up until now, they hadn't really known how many gunmen Davey had, and the uncertainty made them reluctant to stay involved.
Still, once Mac and John showed up with a couple dozen gunmen, that fear eased.
"Damn Laramie Gang—sewer rats, the whole lot of 'em. And sure enough, they fled."
"Finding them now is gonna be trouble. We'll just have to wait for Davey's plan."
"John, you pick up anything?"
After checking around separately, Mac and John regrouped at Garris Farm.
John shook his head. "Nothing, Mac. I asked around—after the attack they grabbed all the moonshine and rode off. We got here too late."
"People say they headed south—probably back to Lemoyne."
"Fuck. Looks like we'll be stuck here for a bit, John."
John nodded. "Maybe we should clean the place up and get some tents set. Folks need a place to sleep."
Life out in the open was normal for cowboys; living in a big house like the one at Land Ranch was the rare luxury.
Thankfully, the Garris farmhouse hadn't taken too much damage. With a bit of tidying, it was livable again.
The other twenty cowboys would just make do with tents.
"Honestly, John, I never thought you'd leave the gang with Abigail and come to Davey."
"I mean, even when I left with Davey back then, it felt unreal."
"Even as his brother, I've gotta say—Davey changed a lot after Blackwater."
"Back then we handled everything with our fists. Now Davey prefers using his head."
Mac dug two bottles of moonshine out of his saddlebag and handed one to John.
John took it and sighed. "Yeah, Mac... I didn't think I'd ever leave either."
"Abigail talked to me about it over and over, but I could never decide. With the gang moving again, she didn't want to keep living that life. It tore me up."
"In the end, it was Hosea who convinced me. Hosea... he's been good to me—good to all of us. Not like Dutch."
"Arthur wanted me to leave too, even if he never said it outright."
"Davey... he reminds me of how Dutch used to be. Don't you think so, Mac?"
"Dutch led us on robberies. Now Davey leads us... into business? Ha, funny how things turn."
Mac laughed.
"Yeah, John, it really is. Davey keeps talking about this 'new era.' I don't know how he suddenly picked up all that smarts—we've lived together every day."
"But things are sure better than before. Moonshine's made us a fortune. I don't even know how much Davey's got now, but it's gotta be a lot. Feels like money that'll never run out—and that's a damn fine feeling."
"If we were still with Dutch, we'd probably be hiding who-knows-where, running for our lives."
A few swigs of strong liquor later, John's words started spilling freely.
"Ever since I saw Dutch kill that innocent girl on the ferry, I knew he'd changed. Nothing he'd preached lined up anymore."
"To hell with Dutch, to hell with the plan... Tahiti... Tahiti... Doesn't he know I can't stand mangoes?"
"Things are better now. Abigail's not constantly in my ear about little Jack."
"Thanks to Davey, I've got a job that pays three hundred bucks—no more robbing and killing just to survive."
"Come on, Mac, let's drink to Davey!"
Mac grinned and raised his bottle. "To Davey!"
Just like the Van der Linde Gang hunting Colm without knowing where he was, Davey faced a similar problem now.
Clearly, the only thing to do was lure the snake out of the gutter.
But finding a middleman in Saint Denis and baiting the Laramie Gang would take some time.
Over the next few days, John and Mac stayed at Emerald Ranch, guarding against another attack.
During that time, Davey wired five thousand dollars to get the license for Land Security Company.
By Friday, Stella telegraphed back—the paperwork was done.
The company's registered address was 361 Seventh Avenue in Federal City, a modest little building.
It was just for registration purposes, of course, but Davey still had to pay eighty dollars in monthly rent.
With that, Davey's Land Security Company was officially established, and he could finally start hiring security personnel through legal channels.