Plan B included lowering one poacher over a bridge in gator infested waters until information was received. The result was the same as canon. It was a job, they were hired anonymously to make it look like Indians, not realising anyone with half a brain would know that Indians wouldn't do it. Information received they hung the boys by their ankles, mouths above the river, eyes and hair less so. If they were lucky they'd drown themselves before the gators came. Hopefully they weren't. Fucking wasteful cunts. The amount of money lost from shooting bison and leaving the bodies to rot hurt his brain.
Of course as soon as they were brought back to camp, Arthur, Dutch, Hosea, and him went off by the secondary camp fire to discuss things in private.
''What's the problem, Arthur?'' Asks Hosea.
''Me, Bill, Reiner, Charles, and Javier dealt with some poachers near the camp, killing Bison in the hundreds. During witch, mister Stark revealed he's got two million in the bank.'' Says Arthur.
''Is that right?'' Dutch looks at him, eyebrow raised.
''My organization does twelve shipments a day, a hundred and fifty bottles a shipment, at a dollar fifty a bottle, we source the ingredients ourselves, and I tax at forty-five percent, plus a ten percent kickback from the profits of our buyers. Nearly thirty thousand a month in profit pre-tax.'' He says casually.
''And you didn't mention this because?'' Hosea asked.
''Because a), it's my personal income, and b), I extract a small amount each month and give the gang its share. Also, I don't have to do that. I can easily just pay from my robberies. I basically farm high-value targets.'' He says.
''That's not even the best part, that's just from Moonshine.'' Arthur said.
''Huh, what about the White Oak?'' Dutch says stroking his chin.
''They need to go. Someone's trying to usurp me, I'm pretty sure I know who's backing the usurper from my inner circle.'' Says Reiner.
''What are you thinking, Dutch?'' Hosea asks.
''How much of your organization is compromised?'' Dutch asked him.
''Out of the entire inner circle, I only implicitly trust four of the five, and even then only three know who I really am. Speaking of which…'' Reiner said, lowering his mask. ''Captain, Edward James Reiner, medal of honor recipient, lemoyne born.'' He introduced himself.
''Nice to finally put a face to the man.'' Arthur joked.
''I'm sure.'' Reiner responded dryly.
''If your organization's comprised, you'll need a new one.'' Dutch says.
''I can salvage most of the assets. It's just a question of who's in on the whole thing. Flaco's always been a greedy bastard. I've reached out to one of the bosses under him, hopefully they're willing to meet with me. My banker will be arriving at Valentine Station in a few days. So, I'll meet with him, have him buy a few parcels of land. Hopefully that will lead the usurper to make a move, and we can convince La Muñeca to join us.'' Says Reiner.
''We'll speak more about this later, for now, let's get some rest.'' Says Dutch at long last.
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After getting the chores done in the morning, he and Dutch continued their discussions before Reiner left to go hunt for a bit. Dutch wanted a piece of the pie. He saw an opportunity to take advantage and ''Convinced'' him to have the gang take the place of the other muscle.
Oh Dutch Van der Linde, you poor dumb fuck.
Didn't know you were doing exactly what Reiner wanted. Your death was quickly approaching. Dutch taking a seat at the table wouldn't last. Dutch wouldn't be satisfied, he'd always want more. So, in the course of going against White Oak, your death would occur, and Reiner would be your natural successor in the eyes of your loyalists. Wake your ass up Demon, your time's coming.
And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice... saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.
So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
Instantly, Reiner's form changed, the Demon coming out as it whispered four passages that signaled just one thing, because instantly, Reiner looked to his horizon and saw, Conquest, War, Famine, and Death on the Hill, and Conquest, War, and Famine followed the lead of Death as it trotted down to where he and his mount were.
''The time is approaching, chosen one of Zarathos, you've kept the demon at bay for over twenty of your mortal years by periodically releasing it, but the time is fast approaching. The Devil's cage is weakening. Six hundred and Sixty six seals exist, if Zarathos is voluntarily unleashed the clock starts ticking and the first seal breaks. Demons begin pouring out, and they will come for you. But your gifts can be shared with others and you have an advantage. Your skill as a craftsman is without equal. Tame the Four Horses, Break them, and you can select a Horseman of Conquest, a Horseman of War, a Horseman of Famine, and a Horseman of Death. They'll answer to you as Rider's themselves, and you can share your curse as a Rider with five people, separate from the Horseman. Choose wisely.'' From the mouth of Death's Pale Arabian.
In the end, he had but one real set of people he could entrust these roles to.
Arthur Morgan.
Sadie Adler.
John Marston.
Hosea Matthews.
Javier Escuella.
Tilly Jackson.
Bill Williamson.
Josiah Trelawny.
Charles Smith.
Five Riders, four Horsemen.
''I accept, I hereby choose Arthur Morgan as The Enforcer, Sadie Adler as The Executioner, John Marston as The Revenant, Hosea Matthews as The Architect, and Javier Escuella as The Zealot. These Five will share my burden as Riders when the time comes. I chose Tilly Jackson as the Horseman of Conquest. I Choose Bill Williamson as the Horseman of War. I chose Josiah Trelawny as the Horseman of Famine. I chose Charles Smith as the Horseman of Death. When Dutch Van der Linde and Micah Bell lie dead, the Curse begins.'' He says, each name, each title, hitting like a death sentence. Six Riders accompanied by the Four Horsemen. Bill would not be pleased with the idea of a woman being the Horseman of Conquest. But Tilly had conquered and overcome her past, she was the moral compass of Reiner and the one who inspired him to work towards putting an end to this racial supremacy bullshit.
''And so it has been written.'' Death's horse states.
''And so it has been written.'' The other Horses reply.
May God forgive him for condemning others to this fate…..
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(Author's Note:)
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Yeah, Reiner is the Ghost Rider.
As for why he's able to share the Curse of being a Rider? I'm greedy.
Once I learned about the Four Horses in Undead Nightmare I was like fuck Undead Nightmare, we'll do some Supernatural Bullshit. Adds a whole new layer. Fun fact, Completed this same day as Chapter 8, so that was fun. Gonna have a long sleep in tomorrow, and do absolutely fuck all to enjoy a break. See you guys next chapter!
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A very special thanks to Mitchell Howard, David Martinez, ROGUE505 Saver, Mathew T Linderman, Luck George, Kyle Diano, Julien, Morgan Sinn, Tom A, Nicholas Berenguer, Arimar26, Robin Kristiansen, Dragon emperor87, Daniel Setchell, James Fleming, Zero 12995, Spencer Davidson, Rowdy_Rich, Beastmode2003, Birhaledin, Blood For The Blood God, Dymarkus Tillman, Lorra Thorsdottir, Parker Kessinger, Ryan, Jacob Hixson, Kazim Zaidi, and Natalie McCowen for their continued support on P-atreon.
And also a big thank you to Cody, Luci Alarra, TJ Cruz, Kunta, Availon90, Gavin Barclay, Dragonslayer29, Jacarya Robinson, Nathan Just, Francisco J Guzman, Axlii, Reece Hutton, Ken Harris, Zeldris Wrath, Duy, lonelynib _, Austin, D3EATH707, Cutler1812, Aleksander_402, Lewis Wilson, Profound Magician, Arzard, HxC 740 VxD, Attila Kovács, Ruby Uzumaki, Mudit Chadha, Maciek, Joao Goncalves, Dwhateverprof, Jibreel Kamal, Luis, Luis, Zeca, Bent, Jason, Solus 1994, Evil King, Manuel, Benoit Valtin, Craig Butler, Joseph Brann, Cristobal Ahumada, Nathaniel Lessord, GGbeejee, Trey-Way, FisherKing711, Calvin Ellis, adrian szydlowski, Robert Hernandez, James Lloyd, Ryan, Meet Parikh, Kyle Santora, Toros Silver, Vlone_Icy, reikon aijin, weird song, Cameron Krueger, Nattapat Attachat, and Adam Blair for their past support on Patreon.
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