"Leviticus Cornwall is no pushover—he's a successful railroad tycoon, a sugar merchant, and an oil baron."
Hosea spoke up, laying out what he knew and sounding worried.
Dutch shrugged. "That's good. Sounds like he's got plenty of valuables worth taking."
"All right, gentlemen, let's figure out the plan to make some money. We can move out tomorrow."
Dutch paid no more mind to Hosea and started arranging the details of the train robbery. Naturally, core fighters like the Callander brothers would be part of it.
Mac Callander perked up. "Been lying in bed for days—feel like I'm rusting."
Davey felt a mix of irritation and resignation toward his brother. The Callander twins had always been criminals; that was their nature.
"Okay, go get ready. I'll talk to Hosea," Davey said, sending Mac off and moving to Hosea's side.
Hosea's face was drawn with worry. "You don't back my idea, do you, Davey?" he asked, assuming Davey had come to argue.
After all, the Callander brothers usually wanted action.
"No, Hosea. I agree with you. Right now we shouldn't be robbing a tycoon's train—that just makes our situation worse," Davey said, shaking his head.
Hosea looked taken aback; he hadn't expected Davey to side with him. "You're right, Davey. We should keep a low profile. If it weren't for this blizzard, we'd never have escaped the Pinkertons."
"Getting Cornwall's ire would be foolish. If our identities come out and he teams up with the Pinkertons, we'll be in real trouble."
Davey continued, "Dutch thinks we can pin this on the O'Driscoll Gang, but that's too risky. The Pinkertons already have their eyes on us—Dutch is underestimating them."
"If the Pinkertons trace this back to us, Cornwall will gladly pay a fortune to see us captured."
"A single train isn't much to Cornwall, but he'll spend whatever it takes to save face."
Hosea's worry deepened. He could already picture how badly the gang might be cornered.
"But Dutch… Dutch won't accept that. Not even if the plan is this bad."
"You, Davey—I thought you'd be the one itching to rob the train," Hosea said with a sigh, then turned to Davey, curious.
Davey gave a wry smile. "It's the Pinkertons. You know Mac and I have pulled plenty of jobs, but we never dared provoke Pinkerton. Now they've got us in their sights."
"The Blackwater job was a Pinkerton trap."
"We got out, but we made the Pinkertons lose face. They'll be crazier for it. I don't want to poke them."
Hosea nodded in admiration. "Davey, you're right. Pinkerton is a massive problem for us."
"I get why Dutch wants to rob the train—being hunted nonstop has everyone on edge. He thinks a big job will lift spirits."
Hosea sighed. As a gang, a successful heist does raise morale—especially with everyone demoralized by the storm and the chase.
Davey said, "Dutch's aim isn't wrong, but he's ignoring our situation. There's no need to anger a tycoon. That'll be worse than making the feds mad."
From Davey's memory of the game's storyline, Pinkerton's relentless pursuit of the Van der Linde Gang hinged on financial backing from Cornwall. Otherwise, even as outlaws the gang wouldn't have been singled out so intensely. In earlier years around Blackwater, the gang had carried out dozens of robberies without drawing that level of Pinkerton attention. Pinkerton didn't chase every outlaw—they worked for the wealthy.
After exchanging thoughts with Hosea, Davey went back to his cabin.
...
Mac was at the table, cleaning and oiling his revolver.
"Robbing a train—that's a hell of a plan. We'll have a fortune in no time," Mac grinned when he saw Davey come in.
Davey's face went cold. "Mac, my brother, maybe I should have let you die on that ferry. Would've been better than keeping you around with that pig-headedness."
Mac blinked, genuinely confused. "Davey—what's wrong with you?"
Big and strong but not the sharpest, Mac couldn't see why his brother was angry.
Davey snorted. "We're already on Pinkerton's radar, and now you want to piss off a tycoon? You think life's been easy for you?"
"How much is in one train anyway—hundreds, a few thousand? Not enough to change our lives."
"But if Cornwall hires Pinkerton to hunt us, we'll end up like on that ferry."
"We got lucky this time. What about next time? Or the time after that?"
"Mac, my brother, you'll be shredded by a Maxim."
At the mention of the Maxim, Mac's shoulders sagged. "All right, Davey. I'll listen to you, brother."
Back then, a common laborer in America made about $200–$400 a year. A few hundred or a few thousand dollars sounded immense—but half of any haul had to go to the gang, and the rest was split, leaving each member with far less than it appeared.
For the Callander brothers, a few hundred dollars wasn't a big deal. They'd robbed coaches, rich men, and even banks before, and would have easily secured much more if not for Blackwater. If the Blackwater affair hadn't happened, they'd already have thousands saved.
As the gang's main fighting force, the brothers' shooting and brawling skills were top-notch. Mac once beat fifteen sailors on his own—that proved his hand-to-hand prowess. Davey as the elder was no slouch either.
Bill used to brag he could take twenty sailors—that was when the Callanders were dead. He wouldn't dare say that now, not if he wanted to keep his teeth.
In the Van der Linde Gang, the Callander brothers walked tall. Even Arthur, alone, couldn't handle them both. If Davey decided to leave the gang outright, Dutch could only watch. As twins, Mac would follow his brother.
Of course, Davey hadn't found a clear way out yet. For now, staying with Dutch was the best option. At least—for the moment.