Chapter 49
As soon as I felt the outside getting a bit brighter just before dawn, I left the room.
"Boss, are you awake?"
"...Oh, you startled me."
The one greeting me was Emma.
Whether she had been guarding the door all night or had woken up early to wait for me to come out.
Emma greeted me with her usual expressionless face, just like any other time.
...No, it wasn't exactly the same as usual.
Somehow, a bit of impatience was visible behind her expressionless face.
After what happened yesterday, it would be difficult to treat me exactly the same as before.
But...
"Are you feeling alright?"
Emma seemed to be making an effort to continue our previous relationship, as if she wanted to.
...It seemed she wanted to pretend she didn't see anything last night.
So I also treated Emma as usual.
"Not too bad. Maybe because our Emma treated me, my condition is excellent at this level."
"...That's fortunate."
"I'm hungry, but... unfortunately, there's somewhere we need to go before breakfast. Get ready to leave."
Above all, what was important now wasn’t my relationship with Emma, but safely escaping this city.
And after pondering while chain-smoking last night, I finally found a way to escape San Francisco.
"...Pardon? The South Brotherhood and San Francisco sheriff's office are probably still swarming outside, where are we going?"
"There's a place, someone who can get us out of this city."
So I left the villa early in the morning with Emma, who had a confused expression.
***
"Yawn..."
As one got older, one slept less in the morning.
An old man got up from bed and drew the curtains to see it was just starting to dawn.
His name was Lloyd Collins.
He was the owner of Lloyd Railroad Company, which owned the most railroad operating rights and trains in the West.
His main home was in Sacramento, another major city in California, but due to his schedule, he had to stay in San Francisco for a few days and was staying in this hotel's suite room.
"They said it was a new place, but it was quite satisfactory."
Leaving San Francisco again today to head east, he rubbed his eyes and went to the living room to greet his last morning here.
"You're awake. Would you like some coffee?"
"Ah, thank you. No sugar please."
"Yes, sir."
Lloyd headed to the bathroom, still not fully awake.
He planned to wash his face first, remove the sleep from his eyes, and wake up.
But...
"Hmm...?"
As soon as he entered the bathroom and saw the toilet at the sink, Lloyd should have felt something was off.
...I don't have a separate attendant in my room?
Of course, Lloyd had been alone in the room for several days.
Then who’s the person who just asked if I wanted coffee...?
Crash.
"...W-who’s there!"
As soon as he realized something was wrong, Lloyd rushed out of the bathroom, and the intruder greeted him glibly, "Mr. President! It's me. Have you already forgotten?"
"...You are."
Suddenly wide awake from the situation, Lloyd could finally recognize who the man in front of him was.
"Jett Gray?"
"Yes, that's right. Jett Gray."
The hero of the train who had saved numerous passengers, including Lloyd, on the train to San Francisco.
He had broken into Lloyd's room early in the morning and pleaded, "Mr. President, please help me."
"...Huh?"
Naturally, Lloyd couldn't help but be flustered.
***
It was said that people became more relaxed as they age.
The railroad-rich uncle, though surprised by my sudden appearance, first brewed two cups of coffee and asked for a conversation.
Sip.
So the conversation started along with coffee time.
"...Well, Jett. I'm glad to see you again, but how on earth did you get into this room? The door should have been locked?"
"I had no choice but to come in through the railing over there."
"Through the railing…? This is the 4th floor, you know?"
There was only one suite room per floor in this hotel.
And Lloyd's room was on the 4th floor.
Lloyd asked with an expression of disbelief, but it wasn't really difficult for me.
"It's just the 4th floor. It wasn't that hard."
Of course, this was impossible for Emma, so she was hiding outside the hotel now.
"...But how did you know I was staying here?"
"I stayed at this hotel briefly too. I just glanced at the reservation list at the counter then."
At that time, I was just amazed that I was staying at the same hotel as the rich uncle I met on the train, but now it had become my last lifeline.
I pleaded to my last lifeline, "When we parted, you said to tell you anytime if I needed help. I desperately need help now."
"Huh… well."
The railroad-rich uncle laughed emptily at my shameless request but asked anyway, "What kind of help do you need from me? Let's hear it."
"I'd like you to help me get out of this city."
"This city? From San Francisco?"
"Yes, coincidentally, there are people looking for me spread out on the streets now."
As the darkest place is under the lamp, they didn't think I would return at all, so the security at this hotel where I was staying was very lax.
Only minimal personnel were guarding my belongings in my original room.
But the streets of San Francisco were different.
The sheriff's office was inspecting citizens and carriages, and the South Brotherhood started searching the alleys.
It was fortunate it was dawn, as it was actually very difficult for Emma and me to get here.
With state government troops guarding the outskirts of the city, it would be impossible to leave the city by land.
So I told Lloyd, the owner of the railroad company, my detailed plan to escape this place.
And after hearing my plan, Lloyd...
"Hmm... Is that all I need to do?"
"Yes, please help this poor guy."
"Haha, alright. I'll help you."
"...Pardon?"
He expressed his willingness to help more generously than I thought.
I was rather surprised by his answer to help right away without asking or questioning further.
"...Really, Mr. Lloyd?"
"What goes around comes around, right? You helped me on the train last time, so this time I'll help you."
"Mr. Lloyd, thank you..."
I bowed my head to the railroad-rich uncle with gratitude.
But at that moment, the railroad-rich uncle's eyes turned cold.
"However, I'll only help you this once. I'm grateful you saved my life and our company's reputation, but it would be best not to think about milking my backbone too."
"Of course, naturally."
"And if you're arrested for illegal activities, I'll deny your existence. I have many dependents too."
"Of course. That's how it should be."
I didn't expect that much from this uncle anyway.
As I grinned and nodded, the railroad-rich uncle, who had cold eyes, soon smiled.
That smile was filled with innocence as if he had returned to childhood.
"By the way, this should be quite fun after a long time. Haha, I feel like I've become a Pinkerton agent. So, Jett. What's the name of this operation?"
"Operation name...? Hmm..."
At the railroad rich uncle's words asking for an operation name like a child playing, I thought for a moment and then...
"...Seondonggeogseo."
Soon I answered with a childlike smile like the rich uncle, "The operation name is Seondonggeogseo."
"Seondong... Hmm… I've never heard of it, what does that mean? Is it an Indian slang?"
"Yes, something like that. Well, now that we've made the operation plan and decided on the name, let's hurry and leave."
There was no time to explain the meaning of Seondonggeogseo to the rich uncle.
The sooner my operation was carried out, the better.
As I gestured, the railroad-rich uncle also hurriedly got up.
"Right. Let's get ready quickly."
"Ah, and I need a horse, can I borrow one?"
"I'll lend you my beloved horse."
So with the cooperation of the railroad-rich uncle, the San Francisco escape operation, codenamed “Seondonggeogseo”, began.
***
"Yawn~ What kind of work is this, not sleeping all night."
"Tell me about it... I'm really dying of sleepiness."
The South Brotherhood members searching the alleys of San Francisco poured out complaints with voices full of fatigue.
"We ran around all day yesterday collecting money too… damn..."
"It's a direct order from the boss, they say. We can't help it."
"But why is the boss personally looking for this guy?"
Their mission was to find the man and woman in the composite sketch.
Moreover, even the sketch was hastily drawn, so the quality wasn't good.
From the perspective of the members who were groping in the dark without even being told who the people in the sketch were, it was really frustrating.
"I don't know, but still. Have you ever seen the boss do useless work? We just have to trust and follow."
"Haa… I guess."
"Hey, let's smoke a cigarette by the beach over there."
"Sounds good. Let's rest a bit while smoking."
Soon, they reached the beach after searching the alleys and headed towards the beach, each putting pipes and cigarettes in their mouths for a short break.
That was when it happened.
Clop, clop.
"Hmm...?"
Suddenly hearing the sound of horse hooves galloping excitedly towards them, they turned their heads and there was...
"...Oh? Hey, that!”
"...Oh, fuck!”
A man riding a horse wearing white clothes and a white mask.
The South Brotherhood members, who felt PTSD just from the man's appearance, drew their guns without anyone saying anything.
That was because...
"It's TKK!"
"When did these bastards come back!”
The man's appearance was that of TKK, the worst gang in the West that once competed with the South Brotherhood for hegemony in San Francisco.
But their drawn guns wouldn't be fired...
Bang, bang—!
"...This is crazy."
The TKK man disarmed the South Brotherhood members by removing the guns from their hands with just two bullets.
The members were frozen by the man's almost magical gun skills.
But the TKK man with his face hidden behind a white mask didn't kill the defenseless members.
Instead, he just recited in a cold voice as if a god was speaking, "Go and tell the others. Kid has returned to reclaim San Francisco."
"...!!!"
Kid.
That name that no one in the South Brotherhood could not know.
The unbelievable shooting skills shown just now gave credibility that he was indeed Kid.
This bastard really seems to be Kid...!
He who had disappeared a few years ago appeared and said he would reclaim San Francisco.
This was a declaration of war against the South Brotherhood and a signal flare for a new conflagration.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Kid has returned!!”
The two ran away to their comrades and reported this fact as if they had seen a devil.
So San Francisco, which was already noisy, started to heat up to the point of explosion.