then.”
“Aren’t you coming along with us?” Nick asked.
Suddenly, Hale didn’t feel like smiling. “Why would I do that? You know what you need to do. Just do it. If I was going to do the job, I wouldn’t need to pay you men.”
“The locals are starting to walk about,” Nick said. “The fires are being put out and the law’s even coming around.”
When he saw Hale look in his direction, Kinman nodded. “He’s right. It’s not like we can walk down the street with a load like this and not expect to be noticed.”
“Jesus Christ,” Hale grumbled. “I might as well—”
“Might as well what?” Nick snapped. “Kill these folks your own self instead of piling up their bodies? Plant this dynamite yourself instead of sitting back and watching the explosions? Or maybe take some of the blame yourself rather than paying us to take it for you. Yeah. Maybe you should do it yourself.”
Hale obviously wasn’t pleased to hear what Nick had to say, but some of the indignant fire had left his eyes. In fact, Hale seemed to become downright uncomfortable the longer he stood there in front of the two men. Finally, he said, “I see what you mean. Fine, then. Let me get my wagon and I can take you to the tracks. I might even know a spot where you can take your time in planting that dynamite without being spotted.”
“See now?” Kinman said triumphantly. “Seems like ol’ Nick might know what he’s talking about after all.”
Hale ran across the street to a small lot where a few horses and wagons were kept. After getting a single horse tied to a small cart, Hale motioned for the others to meet him down the street. As soon as he drew to a stop in front of the Central Mining Office, Hale’s men loaded the wagon and Kinman climbed onto the seat beside him.
“Actually, I could just tell you where to go…” Hale started to say. Once he got a look at the glare Nick was shooting at him, he added, “You’re right. It would be quicker if I just took you there myself.”
“Bring the payment,” Nick said.
Hale froze with his mouth hanging open. After clearing his throat and trying to regain his composure in front of the rest of his men, he asked, “Why?”
“Because I don’t intend on staying here,” Nick replied. “You may fancy shitting on your own doorstep, but I’m moving on as soon as this job is over.”
“I need to bring you back to town anyway, so why don’t you just—”
“You don’t need to bring me anywhere.” Nick cut in. “I’m going to get my horse and then we’ll move along. I left him in a stable not far from here.”
Hale opened and closed his mouth a few times and even got out a few sputtering breaths without managing to form any words. Finally, he looked over at Kinman and said, “You vouched for this man?”
“Actually,” Kinman said, “I think he’s making a good point. If the Federals are on their way, they could arrive at any moment.”
“They won’t be here for a while yet!”
“Can you guarantee that?”
Kinman’s question hung in the air like the acrid smoke drifting in from Chinatown. Hale looked around at the few other men taking orders from him, but none of them had anything to offer.
Looking back at Nick, Hale had a coldness in his eyes. It wasn’t cold enough to make Nick turn away.
“Get the money, Cy,” Hale said. As one of his men ran off to follow through on the command, Hale said, “Get your horse, Nicolai.”
Nick straightened a bit and cocked his head to one side. The look he gave Hale was the same one he’d given countless other times in his youth. So far, no man had lived to see that look more than once.
“If you don’t mind,” Hale said to make quick amends. Although he tried to keep the same serious look in his eyes, he was unable to maintain the edge in his tone. “Since I’ll be carrying this much cash on me, I’d appreciate it if we stayed together until the job is done.”
Taking his sweet time before nodding slightly, Nick turned and walked to the stable where Kazys was waiting.
FOURTEEN
Nick and Kinman rode their own horses while Hale and two of his men rode in the small wagon. With the fires being put out slowly but surely, the night was reclaiming Rock Springs with its thick blanket of darkness. Even so, the smell of burnt gunpowder and spilled blood still hung heavily in the air.
Hale snapped his reins and got the wagon rolling ahead of Nick and Kinman. Just when he was about to mention how empty the streets were, he spotted someone standing at a window and tipped his hat to them. He kept quiet for the rest of the ride.
When Hale steered off the road and toward a cluster of trees, Nick thought the man’s hands had slipped from the reins. But rather than roll straight into the greenery, the horse nosed aside some branches to reveal a narrow trail that looked only slightly wider than a footpath. Nick made certain both the wagon and Kinman were ahead of him before he ventured into those trees.
The trail was mercifully short. Every step of the way, Nick got swatted in the face by low-hanging branches. Wooden barbs clawed at his arms and snagged at his sleeves when he tried to brush them out of the way. When he managed to wipe the dust and pollen from his eyes, Nick was looking at a wide stretch of land with a set of railroad tracks running straight down the middle of it. Hale was practically standing on top of the wagon as he snapped the reins to drive it to a spot beside the tracks. As soon as his brake was set, he jumped down from his seat.
“All right,” Hale said. “This is the spot. I don’t think anyone got a look at what was in that wagon, and they sure didn’t get much of a look at you two, so I’ll be on my way.”
“What’s the hurry?” Nick asked.
Hale started to reach for his horse to unhitch it. “I’m paying you men to do this job and that’s what you’ll do. If I wanted to do it myself, I could have saved the money.” He stared at Nick and Kinman. “What are you men waiting for? Get to work!”
“I think the plans are about to change,” Kinman said.
The fear had already taken hold of Hale’s features as he started backing toward his men, who were beside the wagon. Hale bumped against Cy, who was the closer of the two. “You two stand to make some easy money,” he said. “Don’t ruin it by doing something stupid.”
Kinman chuckled and said, “Stupid, huh? By stupid, do you mean being the ones to set this dynamite so your men here can witness it? Or do you mean stupid as in being the ones hunted by the army for killing its soldiers while you do whatever the hell you want right here?”
Watching the two men talk, Nick learned plenty from their faces. He learned even more from the faces of the men Hale had brought along with him. Although Hale looked more scared than anything else, Cy and the other gunman wore the expressions of men getting ready to make a move.
“Or maybe you just got a guilty conscience,” Kinman added. “Perhaps you’re just the sort of fellow who don’t like getting his hands dirty. You could be the sort who just likes to plan the deeds and reap the benefits afterward.”
“You’re the one who killed those Chinamen,” Hale said defiantly.
“That’s right. And they barely put up a fight. You could have done it your own self if you weren’t sitting in your office while your own town was on fire. Tell me something, Hale. Did you have enough sand to start even one of them fires or did you just watch from behind a window somewhere with the rest of the women?”
Hale’s face twitched and the muscles in his jaw tensed. After a few stuttering hisses, he managed to part his lips enough to speak to the men who’d ridden alongside him. “Blow this asshole’s head off.”
Kinman smirked and brought up his pistol in a quick, fluid motion. He took aim and prepared to fire with plenty of time to spare, but didn’t manage to get his shot off before his pistol was knocked off target. When he
