Chapter 53 - Superstar of The West

"..."

"...Mayor."

Billie approached Luke, who was sitting on the ground in a daze.

To Billie, Luke, the mayor of San Francisco and leader of the South Brotherhood, had always been a strong and unwavering person.

To see him sitting on the ground so powerlessly like this...

Feeling a corner of her heart ache, Billie said, "It's not over yet. We can still catch Kid."

"..."

"If we order the state troops to block the railroad tracks and ask other states and cities for help in catching the train in your name, Mayor..."

"Enough."

"...Pardon?"

"I said enough. He's already left San Francisco and... said he won't come back, so there's no need to chase him."

But Luke was very reluctant to chase and catch Kid to the end.

Billie, who couldn't understand such a Luke, asked him pressingly, unlike her usual self, "Mayor! What are you saying!? Kid is our archenemy!"

"Billie, you seem to be mistaken. Our archenemy isn't Kid."

At this, Luke returned to his indifferent face and answered as he stood up, "Our archenemy is TKK, where Kid belongs."

"...But Mayor. TKK is..."

"Yes, it's disbanded."

TKK, called the worst organization in the West, once waged war with the South Brotherhood for hegemony in San Francisco.

The winner was the South Brotherhood.

After that, TKK's main executives were eliminated and it disbanded.

This was all Billie knew.

But Luke seemed to think differently.

"Those guys are like cockroaches. They're probably still surviving and crawling around various parts of the West."

The expression that appeared on Luke's face then was deep disgust.

"And you know, those guys are like fanatics. If they hear that their Jesus has returned, they'll gather in San Francisco again."

Ah...

Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be there Judas, not Jesus?

Luke muttered the latter part for a moment, then put his hand on Billie's shoulder and said, "Of course, I understand your feelings towards him. I have the same feelings you do."

If Billie lost her brother to Kid, Luke lost numerous comrades to him.

His comrades who survived the hell of the Civil War couldn't escape Kid's bullets in the back alleys of San Francisco.

Luke wanted to tear Kid apart as much as Billie wanted to kill him.

But...

"Don't we have a greater cause that we must achieve?"

"...!"

"Let's put aside personal feelings for a while for the greater cause."

The current South Brotherhood didn't have the capacity to spend time and effort on Kid.

They had...

A strong desire they had harbored in their hearts since fleeing from the South to the West.

"Billie, I'm lifting your indefinite probation. Return to your position as chief secretary starting today."

"...Yes."

At this, Billie also forgot her personal feelings towards Kid, just like Luke.

The South Will Rise Again.

Someday, the Confederate flag raised in San Francisco would fly over their hometown Richmond, Washington D.C., and even the White House.

But even as she forgot her feelings about Kid, Billie thought.

Kid was a fateful existence that the South Brotherhood would have to face again someday in order to rise.

***

Meanwhile, in a quiet, shabby bar in the back alleys of San Francisco.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Gunslingers with stern expressions were having a meeting.

But unlike other noisy and vulgar gunslingers, they were solemn and didn't even glance at the beer in front of them.

If someone who didn't know saw them, it would have looked like they were having a weekend service.

That was when a gunslinger broke the silence, entered the bar, and reported to the one sitting at the head seat, "I've confirmed the deaths of Casey and McCullan."

"..."

"They were abandoned in an isolated forest outside the villa."

Casey and McCullan.

The two had been tasked with the trivial yet important mission of delivering the boss' letters.

"It wasn't a particularly dangerous mission, yet both died..."

Moreover, the two were skilled enough that it was hard to find their match in San Francisco.

The man sitting at the head seat pondered for a moment and then asked his subordinate about the next matter, "...Have you identified our member who appeared at the port today?"

"It's certainly not one of our personnel."

"Then?"

"...Well."

As the subordinate who always reported promptly hesitated and mumbled, all the men sitting at the table expressed doubt.

And their doubt soon...

"...They say that person called himself Kid."

"...!!"

Turned to shock.

Kid.

With that one word, the solemn atmosphere instantly became bustling.

"No, what…?"

"Who on earth…?"

"Could it really be him…?"

The one who quieted them was the man at the head seat.

"Enough."

"..."

After closing his eyes for a moment and opening them, he quieted his subordinates as if he understood everything and said, "It seems it really is him."

"...!"

"Contact the boss. Tell him we've found a clue about him."

"...Yes, understood."

At the appearance of him whom they dared not even address, the subordinates became dumbstruck.

But the man at the head seat just continued the meeting.

"And gather all the brothers and sisters scattered around San Francisco today."

"...They're scattered here and there so it won't be easy to gather them, and even if we do, there won't be many. Why are you doing this?"

"We need to choose an executor."

"...!"

Choosing an executor.

There was no one here who didn't know what that meant.

As the atmosphere became chilling, the man slammed the table and said, "Rules must be followed at all times. First rule. Traitors must be killed."

"..."

"Even if it's the former boss. That's the current boss's will."

This place, once called the worst organization in the West, was actually just barely maintaining its existence and the situation wasn't easy.

Many members still longed for the former boss.

Even though he betrayed and sold out the members.

Moreover, because the second-generation current boss was imprisoned, he couldn't fully grasp control of the organization.

It was truly an atmosphere of an organization on the verge of splitting apart like bean powder.

But even in such difficult times, the fact that each of them was an excellent gunslinger remained unchanged.

"We'll choose an executor tonight. Let's continue the rest of the regular meeting at night."

"Yes."

They all had a common tattoo of “K” on their bodies.

This was the TKK San Francisco branch.

The parasites Luke despised were still surviving in this city.

***

Meanwhile, at Pinkerton.

Pinkerton was always noisy and busy, but today it was even noisier and busier.

Amidst this, a woman stepped into the Pinkerton San Francisco branch building.

A beautiful girl who had just passed twenty.

As soon as she entered, with a neatness reminiscent of nobility and a roughness reminiscent of a street thug gunslinger...

"Ah, oh my!!! Miss!!!"

The busiest San Francisco branch chief Ash Gray ran out barefoot to greet her.

"...I-I didn't know you'd return so suddenly!! If you had contacted me in advance, I would have gone out to meet you!"

At Ash's appearance reminiscent of a mansion butler, the girl laughed heartily and waved her hand, "Come on, Branch Chief. What do you mean 'Miss'? I'm just one of the Pinkerton agents. Just call me Agent Sophia."

"...H-how could I dare to address you like that, Miss."

"Not 'Miss', but Agent Sophia."

"...Yes, Agent Sophia."

Only then did Sophia smile again and look around the office which seemed very busy, asking, "Or you can call me Detective Sophia! More importantly, Branch Chief! Why is it so busy today? Did something happen?"

"...Ah, about that."

Ash reported with his hands politely clasped at Sophia's question, "The South Brotherhood blockaded San Francisco this morning, but they just lifted it a moment ago."

"...The South Brotherhood blockaded the city? Why on earth?"

"Their official stance is that they're cooperating with the San Francisco sheriff's office to catch a vicious outlaw or maintaining public order, but they're not revealing who this outlaw is."

"Hooh..."

As soon as the name South Brotherhood came up, Sophia's eyes sharpened.

And her eyes...

"Is there no information about this outlaw?"

"From what we've gathered... they say he was wearing TKK clothes."

"...!"

As soon as the name TKK came up, her eyes grew even larger and sharper.

Those fierce eyes were enough to startle even Ash, who had been through thick and thin.

Come to think of it, Miss Sophia has always been like this.

She had been interested in catching outlaws since childhood, and as soon as she became an adult, she officially became a Pinkerton agent and went around catching outlaws.

Among them, the outlaw she especially wanted to catch was...

"There's also a circumstance where he called himself Kid."

"...Kid."

It was the one secretly called “Kid” among the Pinkerton executives.

"...Is there no clue as to where he escaped?"

"...I'm sorry. Other than that he went east."

"East..."

At the mention of Kid going east, Sophia smiled and said, "I just came from the east. I went as far as Lexio County in Utah."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and I met a bank robber gang called the Red Beard Gang there, but I lost them."

Of course, she caught other outlaws she met later, but she really regretted losing the Red Beard Gang.

"Is that so? It's alright. You can catch outlaws again next time, so for today, just rest from your travel fatigue..."

"So I need to go east again."

"...Pardon?"

So she, who arrived in San Francisco today, decided to head east again.

Sophia briefly saluted Ash and unilaterally announced, "Branch Chief, Agent Sophia will depart again to re-sweep the Red Beard Gang through Nevada, Arizona, to Utah!"

Of course, the Red Beard Gang was just an excuse.

Kid.

Sophia decided to head east again to find a clue about that mirage-like outlaw.

***

Pinkerton, South Brotherhood, TKK.

They were the ones who could be called the three major powers in the Wild West.

And the man all three major powers were watching...

"...Emma, I lost everything to Uncle Lloyd again."

"...Didn't I tell you to stop playing card games? Haa... We're almost there, so at least for the last moment..."

"Since we're almost there, we decided to have one last big game. I'll be back."

"...Boss, you're being taken advantage of! Stop! I said stop! They're trying to fleece you one last time since we're almost there!!"

They were about to reach the final station after a week-long train journey.