"Listen, I'm not lazy, Mr. Morgan. I'll work—but I'm not doing this vegetable-chopping nonsense."
"My husband and I… we always worked together. We did everything together."
"I've been out in the wilderness… I can hunt, I can shoot, and I know how to use a knife."
"But if you make me stay here, I swear I'll kill that fat bastard!"
Sadie's vicious words made Arthur realize he absolutely couldn't keep her chopping vegetables any longer.
"All right, then come with me."
"You want to go outside? Want to run around like the men? Then come."
"But we're not just hunters out there—we're prey, too."
"And the ones after us? They've got guns."
Facing Arthur's warning, Sadie only replied with firm resolve: "I'm not afraid of dying…"
Arthur had no choice but to take Sadie along to gather supplies and mail a letter to Pearson.
When they reached town, Sadie even went out of her way to change into a full Cowboy outfit.
On the way back, they ran into an ambush by the Lemoyne Raiders.
Sadie's response left Arthur stunned. Not only did she show zero fear—she immediately drew her gun and started shooting, even if her aim was a bit rough.
But that was enough for Arthur to acknowledge her.
...
Land Farm.
"Good Lord, Davey… where did you find this many gunmen? This is… unbelievable."
After Mac returned with a few of his men, the sight at Land Farm stunned him.
At first, Mac thought the place had been raided, until he spotted Uncle strolling around with a drink in hand.
Only then did he learn from Uncle that Davey had founded Land Security and recruited fifty-two employees.
He could tell every one of these gunmen was the real deal.
"Pretty good, huh, Mac? Our numbers are growing fast—more than enough to protect our business."
"Since you're back, I'll have Mr. Cartman take his men and relieve you."
"I can already picture you grumbling every day. You must've been whispering all kinds of crap about me behind my back over at Emerald Ranch, Mac."
Davey tossed Mac a cigarette, teasing him with a grin.
Mac took it and began explaining why he'd returned.
"Oh, Davey, we're brothers—how could I talk behind your back? Ask John."
"John was actually the one who wanted to come back. Maybe he was hoping to get cozy with Abigail, but there's no way I'm giving him the chance. Fuck, don't I need a woman too?"
"Listen, Davey, someone passed us a message—about the Laramie Gang."
"He told us that one of the people backing the Laramie Gang is the Braithwaite family from Rhodes."
"The Braithwaite family's in the moonshine business too. Even though we never sent salesmen to Lemoyne or to Rhodes, our moonshine still showed up there."
"Braithwaite figured our moonshine business would eventually spread their way. So they contacted a few people—probably folks who already hate us—and together they put up a lot of money to hire the Laramie Gang to sabotage our business."
"John and I thought we should bring this to you, Davey."
"The man wouldn't say who he was, but I believe he was telling the truth. Maybe he was an enemy of the Braithwaite family—someone who learned what they were planning and slipped us the information."
Davey thought for a moment, then pieced everything together.
He had originally assumed the ones hiring the Laramie Gang were the distillery managers, since his moonshine operation hit their profits hardest.
He hadn't expected the Braithwaite family to get involved too—but it made perfect sense.
The Braithwaites had been in the moonshine trade for years, and Rhodes wasn't a dry town. It was normal for them to know and associate with the distillery managers.
Maybe they'd been rivals before, but with Davey's moonshine suddenly shaking the market—especially with its new sales model and a flavor as good as premium liquor, if not better—it was only natural for former enemies to join forces.
One taste of Davey's moonshine would be enough for the Braithwaites to see the gap. And the fact that he sold it cheaper only made it worse for them.
Davey also figured out who the informant likely was—someone from the Gray family in Rhodes.
The Braithwaites and the Grays had been generational enemies in Rhodes, locked in conflict. They wouldn't miss any chance to hit each other.
Living in the same town meant they had access to similar intel—plus, the Grays controlled the Rhodes police.
So it made perfect sense that the Grays would pass the Braithwaite information to Davey, who was also in the moonshine business.
They wanted Davey to strike at the Braithwaite family's moonshine operation.
"Originally, I planned to expand into Annesburg and the Van Horn Trading Port first, wipe out the distillery managers' businesses completely."
"But now it looks like we'll need a new plan."
"The Braithwaite family… maybe they should be our first target."