Red Rock II Chapter 4:- Turning Point (A USB Story by Rufusluciusivan and Stormtrooper1990)
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2025 7:04 am
The Outskirts of the Van der Laar Estate, 5km West of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Monday 9th November 1884, 10:00am
Nancy, Clinton, Sand, and Sylvié were standing next to their horses on a small hill. They could see the outskirts of the Van der Laar Estate in the distance.
“This is it. The journey was a bit rocky, but we’ve reached our destination.” Sylvié glanced at her three companions. “By the way. This time, I’m coming with you.”
Nancy briefly hesitated. “They won’t just let us in. We’ll have to… “convince” some of them to part with their outfits. And you’re not exactly trained for combat. No offense.”
“None taken. But infiltration also requires a bit of finesse and silver tongue… and that isn’t exactly the best quality of either of you.” She eyed them a bit playfully. “No offense.”
Nancy chuckled, and Sand smiled. “None taken.” they both answered.
Sylvié then became serious. “I won’t be a hindrance. You’d be surprised by the skills you learn when you’re a servant. I may not know how to fight, but I know how to cajole people with words. I know how to stand in a room, and still be invisible because nobody ever pays attention to the help. I’ll follow all your orders, and if it’s too dangerous I’ll listen when you tell me to stay behind. I want to help. I want to be part of this group, not a burden. Just… let me come with you.” she begged.
There was a short beat. Nancy and Sand exchanged a look, and pondered their options.
Sand nodded.
“Okay. You’re in.” Nancy chose.
Sylvié beamed. “Thank you.”
“But Sylvié… One more thing. It’s very important.” Nancy looked her in the eyes. “You don’t need to prove yourself or earn your place. You’re part of our group, and have been the moment we agreed to travel together. We’re all equals. We will give you orders during the mission, but only because we have more experience. Don’t ever believe you’re less than us. Your opinion is worth the same as mine or Sand’s or Clint’s.”
Sylvié lost her smile, but it was because she was genuinely touched. “I’m… not used to that. I’ve spent all my life being an inferior…” she confessed earnestly.
Sand wrapped a protective arm around her. “Then your new life begins now, sweet sunrise.”
Sylvié leaned against her lover, enjoying the warmth of her embrace. “Sunrise… I love that nickname… It truly is a new dawn for me...”
Nancy left them have their moment, and kissed Clinton on the cheek. “Hope you don’t mind watching the horses.”
He shrugged. “The Van der Laar estate is an all-women paradise. I’d stick out like a sore thumb. Just promise me you’ll be careful. I heard the rumors. Those girls are ready to fight tooth and nail to protect their safe haven. Last time outlaws tried to raid this place and kidnap some women, they cut off their balls and left them to bleed out. I don’t think they’ll be much more merciful with female intruders.”
“Got it.” Nancy took a step forward. “Let’s go girls. Hopefully, our journey ends here… with enough proof to buy DeBeers a nice trip to the nearest prison.”
10:25am
A group of guards were stationed at the front gate of the Van der Laar estate. Sadly, they were too numerous and in open view, so attacking them was too risky. Still, Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié remained hidden in a hollow nearby for a short while, listening to their conversation and trying to assess the estate’s defenses.
Soon, they were rewarded by a useful piece of information when an overseer wearing a bright red scarf came from the inside of the estate to have a chat with the guards.
“Hey! Have you seen the three newest recruits?” she asked.
One sentry snorted. “Alice, Josephine, and Jenny? Yeah! The blonde looks hornier than a jackrabbit, the brunette has this weird accent, and the redhead is a true circus freak with her knives.”
“Bunch of weirdos… Elizabeth is really hiring the first comers lately…” an other guard complained. “As long as you’re a woman and you look for a roof, she’ll take you in…”
“Thank God Victoria has the common sense to hire enough competent gunslingers to make up for it! Can you imagine if she wasn’t here? An estate full of women. All the horny outlaws of the country would come to raid us!”
“I’d like to see them try, after what we did to the last ones…” one sentry said with a harsh grin. “Those bastards won’t rape any more women...”
“Where are the three freaks anyway?” another sentry asked the overseer.
“I didn't want to have them around me. Told them to watch the old stable yard. You know, the one we don’t use anymore.”
The sentries shared a chuckle together.
Nancy, Sylvié, and Sand also shared a smile – though for a different reason.
“I propose we pay a visit to these new recruits, ask them if they can help us be hired…” Nancy said.
Sand glanced at the oblivious sentries still laughing together. “And these morons think they’re being smart… But who’s the dumbest? The novice or the professional who leaves the novice on their own?”
Van der Laar Estate Stable Yard, 10:32am
Coming to the small stable yard, taking cover behind a rickety outbuilding Nancy spied the three novice female gunhands who were supposed to watch the area.
One was a pretty and slim-looking green-eyed white-skinned brunette of average size, with her hair tied into a loose bun. She was wearing a white stetson, blue flannel shirt and black long skirt with matching booties. She was leaning nonchalantly against a row of crates, looking very bored. From the conversation she had heard, Nancy assumed she was Josephine.
Another, an attractive blue-eyed strawberry blonde with a curvaceous body and a short ponytail was standing guard near a barrel, but was also regularly throwing the brunette looks of longing. She was wearing a green shirt, brown stetson and jeans with matching chaps and cowboy boots. Nancy supposed she was Alice.
The last was an athletic-looking round-faced redhead with a fit body, a lot of freckles on the cheeks and nose, greenish brown eyes, and wild curly red hair which she had tied into a loose long ponytail. She was wearing a black hat, a red button up shirt, and black jeans with a matching waistcoat and boots. She was busy training at knife throwing while her two partners watched the area. Nancy assumed she was Jenny.
All girls were armed with Colt 1851 Revolvers. Nancy also noticed one peculiar detail: All three gunhands were wearing around the neck a white scarf with the crest of the Van der Laar estate stitched onto it – a stylized ‘V’ in golden yellow threads.
Nancy turned to Sand and Sylvié, the two lovebirds.
"Right, those girls must be the new recruits and they have the clothes we need, thoughts?"
“I notice there’s no shortage of ropes to accommodate for those three ladies…” Sand noted as she saw coils of them hanging nearby. “We just need a way to pick them off one by one. The blonde will be our main obstacle. She’s the only vigilant one. The redhead’s busy with her knives, and the brunette’s already bored out of her mind.”
“I could use my coin.”
“I also have this.” Sylvié showed them a couple of small vials.
“What’s this? Some kind of weapon?”
“Close. Eleanor’s favorite brand of perfume. Can make someone sneeze worse than hayfever.” Peering around the corner, Sylvié smiled while looking at the brown-haired sentry. "The brunette is my size, I can use my perfume vials to distract her admirer while my adorable Sand..." she paused squeezing her lover's hand "...pulls her over the crates and I take her clothes. Using my disguise, I can lure Blondie into an ambush so Sand can steal her clothes. Finally, the redhead I can chat up buying you, Nancy, the time you need to put her to sleep and strip her down."
Sand grinned, kissing her French lover on the cheek.
“And here I thought my Clinton came up with the best plans but Sylvié, that's just sweet. " Nancy clapped her hands together. "Let’s get to it."
Peeling off to the right, Sand and Sylvié came to the stack of crates the brunette was leaning against. Taking her position just below the unsuspecting guard, Sand gave the signal for Sylvié to toss her vial at the furthest blonde guard. Hearing Alice sneeze, Sand quickly grabbed the brunette, clamping a hand over mouth pulling her over the boxes. Letting out a surprised squeak, Josephine barely had time to react as the Navajo punched her twice in the temple. She slumped unconscious onto the ground with a muffled grunt.
After sharing a quick passionate kiss with her lover while the defeated gunhand was lying at their feet, Sylvié quickly stripped out of her clothes before Sand helped her undress the sleeping brunette. She pulled off the booties and skirt while Sand dealt with the flannel shirt.
"This is all very exhilarating! It feels good to be the one stealing the clothes for once." she whispered excitedly as she got dressed in her stolen clothes.
She copied the brunette’s bun – though she did it with her own hair pins.
The former maid left Sand to bind and gag the unconscious Josephine with stolen ropes and a few strips of Sylvié’s former outfit. The gunhand was left clad only in a cream white lace vest and blue lace knickers – as Sylvié didn’t want to strip her girls naked.
Sylvié used the stetson to obscure her facial features, and walked over to the blonde who looked both pleased and shy, since the object of her affection was walking over.
"Why hello, beautiful." Sylvié said, fluttering her eyelashes the blonde’s way. "I've seen the way you look at me. Do you like what you see?" She seductively smiled stroking the woman's forearm.
The blonde – Alice – blushed all shades of red. “Was… Was it so obvious? S- Sorry Jo'… I- I didn’t want to… be creepy… It’s just… I didn't have the guts to approach you… I- I didn’t think you liked… you know… girls…”
Even then, she didn’t dare look at (the fake) Josephine’s face. Of course, Sylvié wasn’t complaining – it was making her deception easier. But the blonde was so shy and self-conscious, Sylvié couldn’t help but find her adorable. Platonically, of course. “Oh, you’re so cute, chérie…” She figured out maybe she could do something to bring Alice closer to her crush, to make up for the fact she was about to get knocked out and stripped naked...
Alice bit her lower lip, and looked at her boots. She was shifting nervously on her feet. "Wow, that accent… You’re from France? I- I thought it was Quebec… That’s why the others called you Frenchie…?"
Sylvié caressed the blonde’s heart-shaped features. "I'll wager there is more you don't know about little old me. How about we go somewhere more private and I can show you, pretty thing?"
The girl smiled, her big blue eyes glimmering with hope. "Ohh, lead the way sweetheart."
Leading the unsuspecting girl to her doom right where Sand was waiting, Sylvié smiled.
"Right here behind these boxes?" the blonde said disappointed. "I thought you meant behind the s-mmmph!"
As soon as they reached the row of crates, Sand clamped a hand around her mouth pulling her around the corner. Snaking her arm around the blonde’s slender neck, Sand squeezed cutting off the blood flow to the woman's brain.
"Sorry ma cherie, but I like my women more exotic." Sylvié quipped as she felt her tits perk up at the slight of the struggling blonde's eyes rolling back into her skull while her Indian lover was putting her to sleep. “But maybe I can help you get to know the girl of your dreams…” The blonde let out a cute sigh and slumped unconscious into Sand’s arms.
Dropping the sleeping blonde, Sylvié and Sand passionately kissed over her unconscious body.
The lovers then worked together to strip their second victim – including her peach satin shorts and white undershirt.
“You sure you’re fine with that?” Sand asked.
Sylvié nodded. “I trust you.” She took a glance at the unconscious underwear-clad Josephine concealed and trussed up in the empty stable nearby, and only clad in her undies. “Besides, I’d wager she will find a way to make the most of her predicament...”
Sand was soon dressed in the blonde’s clothes, having tied up and gagged the former (and now naked) owner. Sylvié asked her to leave Alice slumped shoulder to shoulder with Josephine – and although she didn’t see the point, she still complied. The blonde’s buoyant full breasts with dark pink puffy areolas and full womanhood topped with a triangle of blonde fuzz were on display.
With their disguises in place, the couple approached the redhead who was still busy throwing knives on a target. She was so engrossed by her practice, she hadn’t even noticed yet her two partners were gone.
Sharing a glance with Nancy who was discreetly approaching nearby, Sylvié and Sand baited the trap.
Sylvié cleared her throat. "What a fine morning it is, no?"
The redhead – Jenny – turned, and frowned. "Hello. Uh… Have we met? Where are Josephine and Alice?”
“We’ve spotted them behind those crates.” Sylvié winked. “They’re not wearing much clothes anymore if you catch my drift.”
“Not surprising. I’ve seen how Alice was looking at Jo’. Didn’t think she’d have the guts though. Good for her I guess.” the redhead said with a shrug. “Are you new hires too? Looks like they sent you here with us. Even gave you similar clothes. Must be some kind of hazing ritual…"
Sylvié nodded. "Oui, oui. I'm from the beautiful country of France and my friend here is from Mexico." Sand flashed her a smile.
Jenny nodded. "Sounds exotic. I've never been to France, what's it like?"
Sylvié looked the woman up and down, suggestively. "Well, it certainly doesn't have many pretty redheads like you around."
Jenny’s round freckled face blushed the same shade as her hair. "Really? Oh you, you're too swe-ugh!!" She cried as Nancy struck her on the back of the head with her revolver, and fell onto the ground with a dull thud.
"Well, well Sylvié. Aren't you full of surprises! Nice work!" Nancy winked, impressed, as she knelt by the redhead, rolling the unconscious girl onto her back before unbuttoning her blouse.
Giggling, Sylvié hugged Sand. "Glad to be of service, ma cherie "
While Nancy pulled off the redhead’s hat, waistcoat, shirt, boots, belt and trousers, the lovebirds fetched two more coils of ropes. They proposed to bind and gag the woman while Nancy got dressed in her new disguise.
Of course, the process was greatly turning them on. Sylvié gagged the girl with strips of clothes, Sand bound the redhead’s ankles with ropes, and then Sylvié didn’t resist the temptation to pull her lover into one passionate kiss. They hadn’t even finished binding the wrists…
As she finished putting on the shirt and waistcoat, Nancy rolled her eyes indulgently. She realized they wouldn’t stop making out immediately. Therefore, once she was in disguise, she finished binding Jenny’s wrists with rope, grabbed the gunhand under the shoulders, and dragged the scantily-clad bound and gagged woman – now dressed only in a blue chemise and matching underdrawers – behind the crates. She dropped Jenny in the empty stable next to Alice and Josephine, and closed it to conceal the trio. Then she came back dusting her hands.
By that time, Sylvié and Sand had finished making out.
"Well my sweet Clinton couldn't have planned that better himself, ladies." Nancy said. "Let's do this. We have an estate to visit."
They all wrapped two small coils of ropes around a shoulder, reasoning that nobody would question a trio of gunhands carrying some ropes – and they expected these would be of use.
Van der Laar Estate Grounds, 10:46am
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié were playing the part of the patrolling sentries, walking in plain sight in-between the fields and the warehouses with their hands on their Colts. They were however careful to make sure nobody got a good look at their faces, discreetly using their hats and scarves to obscure their faces. The workers in the fields and other sentries were too busy to talk to them – or even do more than give them a passing glance.
The estate was as Brett had described. Vast, prosperous, and filled to the brim with women. The workers were women, the overseers were women, even all the guards were women. Happy-looking women, who took joy in being allowed to earn their own salaries, dress like men if they wished so, and live an independent lifestyle.
Nancy admitted to herself she was a bit admiring of the idea. A shame this place was most likely used to hide illegal activities, at least Brett suspected it, but she knew most of these girls were in the dark about that. Hopefully, she could expose Victoria and DeBeers without having to dismantle this safe haven...
Sand was, as always, a bit more practical. She was quick to notice an odd detail about the guards. While there wasn’t a clear-cut uniform, she clearly deduced there was a strict hierarchy.
Workers talking with sentries wearing white scarves were acting informal – not disrespectful, but clearly speaking familiarly. On the other hand, they’d speak differently with the girls who wore black or red scarves, treating them like their supervisors.
“There seems to be some sort of dress code.” Sand discreetly mentioned another trio of women who were patrolling in open view, walking with an aura of confidence and authority. “Those guards look more important than the three we mugged, and they’re not wearing the same scarves.”
Nancy nodded, having come to the same conclusion. “I’d wager the white scarves mean we’re the lowest rank. People who aren’t allowed in the important parts like the main manor without a good reason.” She smiled. “I believe it’s time for a promotion.”
Sand assessed the three patrolling women. The first was a Mexican with a passing resemblance to her, the second was a slim redhead like Nancy, and the third was a cute brunette who looked a bit like Sylvié.
Nancy shook her head. “Not these ones. They’re too exposed. A bit of a shame, they’d have been perfect fits, but we need to find a place that’s a bit more discreet.”
**************
There was a river and small lake in the estate, they were used to water many fields. The biggest ones were used to grow cotton. A few sentries were scattered around to watch them.
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié found something of interest at the southern edge of the cotton fields, near a wooden shed and a small wooden gantry.
The two sentries were wearing red ponchos and black Stetson hats. One was standing near the shed. She was a slim blonde, most likely with some Northern European ancestry – white skin, icy blue eyes, and light blond hair. The other one was standing on the gantry. She was of Mexican ancestry, with her sepia skin tone, coarse black hair tied into a long braid, dark brown eyes, and oval-shaped head. They were armed with rifles.
The blond “poncho” wore dark blue jeans, a beige fringe top rodeo shirt, and dark brown boots. The black-haired one was clad in brown trousers, a red guayabera shirt, and light brown boots. Around their necks, there were black scarves with the crest of the estate, to show they were high-ranked guards – albeit not as high as the overseers wearing red scarves.
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié pretended to be busy with a nearby fence, and discreetly peered at their targets.
“These two are in each other’s line of sight. We can’t take one out as long as the other watches her.”
Sylvié nodded. “Let me try something.”
She walked to the blond one, emphasizing the movement of her hips. “Hey, good-looking-”
“No flirting while on duty.” the blond ‘poncho’ interrupted her, gently but firmly. “I’m sure you have some work to do, greenhorn. And if you don’t, I can find some.”
“On my way!”
Sylvié left as swiftly as she had come.
She returned to her two friends.
“Tough customer.”
“You can’t always win…” Nancy joked. She looked at Sand. “Let’s do it the old fashioned way.”
“Together?”
“Synchronized takeouts.”
“Got it.”
Sand used the cover of the cotton fields to approach the blond “poncho” without being noticed by the black-haired one. She was walking crouched down to hide in-between the plants.
At the same time, Nancy walked behind a fence, and then went under the gantry to approach the Mexican guard without being seen by the blonde.
Sand took position behind the small wooden shed on which the blond “poncho” was leaning.
Nancy threw her lucky coin. Intrigued by the sound, the Mexican girl turned her head. Nancy climbed onto the gantry, using the railing to not be seen by the blond guard, and swiftly flanked the black-haired ‘poncho’.
The two friends shared a quick nod.
Of course, the blond sentry noticed Nancy’s head suddenly peaking above the railing.
But it was too late now.
Nancy and Sand moved in perfect synchronization.
Sand wrapped snake-like arms around the blond sentry’s throat and neck and squeezed. The gunslinger tried to scream, but her cries of alarm were silenced by the sleeper-hold. She passed out. Sand dragged her out of sight in-between the shed and the cotton fields.
At the same time, from behind, Nancy clamped one hand onto the black-haired sentry’s mouth to muffle her shriek, and hit her with the cross of her revolver to knock her out. The sepia-skinned woman groaned, then her body went limp. She was out like a light.
Nancy and Sand laid the two unconscious bodies down, and crouched next to them to strip the gunslingers off their clothes.
With the black-haired Mexican sentry, Nancy stopped once the woman was down to her pair of white knickers with a floral motif, and light pink sleeveless top with white fringes.
Sand also took off the blonde’s peach colored satin half-chemise and matching drawers, exposing the woman's small but well rounded breasts with stiff pink rose petal areolas, full trimmed woman decorated with a strip of blonde fuzz and pert plum shaped buttocks to the Louisiana sun.
Nancy and Sand used their white neckscarfs as gags, knotting them behind the unconscious women’s heads. They didn’t bother to cut their former outfits into strips – they had carried ropes for this exact purpose. They bound each woman’s wrists and ankles.
Sand dragged the naked bound-and-gagged sentry inside the small shed she had been standing nearby, and stashed her there. Nancy dragged the Mexican “poncho”, and rolled her into some bushes under the gantry.
Then, they took off Alice’s and Jenny’s clothes to slip into the high-ranked guards' clothes and ponchos – and, most importantly, the black scarves. They concealed their current outfits in the cotton fields.
Once they were done, they regrouped with their third teammate.
Sylvié looked at Sand appreciatively. She playfully fidgeted with the neckscarf. “Black suits you better.”
Sand giggled.
“Van der Laar manor, here we come!” Nancy announced, while adjusting her poncho and scarf.
Van der Laar Estate, 10:58 am
The estate’s main mansion was your typical Southern manor. It probably used to belong to a slave owner. All the employees were now free women, but the architecture remained untouched.
The front court was a bit crowded, so Nancy opted to enter through the huge back garden. After observing the area, she was, however, not fully satisfied with their current disguises.
“We could use our outfits to enter the manor, but I think if we come across someone they would ask too many questions. Armed guards would need a reason to get in the building…”
Nancy scanned the gardens. When she spotted the lone maid taking a break on a bench under a grove of trees and enjoying the warm day, she smiled.
“Maids can come and leave the manor as they wish… And if one needs to do some heavy lifting, I’m sure she asks a few guards to help her…”
Sylvié sighed. “Talk about a tailor-made role… Okay. Leave that one to me.” She glanced at Sand. “And my sweet love.”
Nancy chuckled. “Okay. I’ll make sure the coast is clear.”
Sand took the lead, leading Sylvié behind the flower bushes of the garden. “Follow my steps.” She instructed her lover.
She walked crouched down, to make sure the bushes were concealing her presence. Sylvié followed her as best as she could.
They reached the bench in which the maid was sitting. She was a cute girl in her early twenties – probably around the same age as Sand and Sylvié themselves. Her curly auburn hair was tied into an elegant neck chignon. She was of average-size, with a cute heart-shaped face, a soft white skin, and a small pointy nose. The woman was dozing, her back turned on the predator who was stalking her.
Sand timed her assault perfectly. She wrapped an arm under the woman’s breasts, clamped a hand onto her mouth, and pulled her into the bushes.
The auburn-haired maid’s gorgeous blue-green eyes briefly opened in fright.
“Mhhhttt?!”
Sand let herself fall into a seated position, dragging the girl with her, and wrapped her legs around the maid’s waist to immobilize her. One tight sleeper-hold properly put the dozing woman to sleep.
Sylvié found the sight of her lover in complete control, with the cute maid futilely squirming and wriggling her body, quite arousing.
“Uuuhhh…” the maid moaned softly, before her body slumped into Sand’s grip like a ragdoll.
The young Navajo rolled the limp unconscious body on the stomach, got back on her feet, and removed the maid’s bonnet and booties.
"Ah, Ma cherie! I do so love it when you are so business-like with our victims. It gets my French blood boiling!" Sylvié said as she kissed the young Navajo’s neck, before stripping off her own clothes, starting with the boots. “I hope you weren’t too hard on the poor thing.”
Smiling, Sand finished pulling off the booties before grabbing the apron’s knot and untying it. “Don’t worry. It’s impressive-looking, but almost painless.”
“Good. Let her enjoy her beauty rest – not that she needs it.” Sylvié took off her white neckscarf. "Um, Sand my love?"
Sand looked up. "Yes, my sweet sunrise?" she asked, unbuttoning the maid’s dress at the same time.
"Just don't give me her underwear, I'm already wearing some."
Sand chuckled. "Now you sound like Nancy but anything for you." she teased.
“So obliging…” Sylvié giggled as she unclipped the belt of her trousers.
Sand pulled off the maid dress, leaving the auburn-haired young woman clad in a light pink knee-long underdress. This finely-crafted slip was adorned with white lace, and had shoulder straps. “You want her hair pins?”
Sylvié dropped her trousers, and walked out of them. “Let her keep them. She obviously put a lot of work in her haircut, and it looks good on her. Plus, I already have mine.”
As Sand grabbed the white neckscarf and ropes still tied on the belt of Sylvié’s discarded trousers, she also briefly caressed and groped the French girl’s butt, feeling her skin through her thin undergarments. Sylvié giggled, and kept unbuttoning her shirt.
Sand used the white neckscarf to gag the auburn-haired maid – the piece of cloth would be thick enough to silence her. She bound the girl’s wrists and legs with the ropes.
Having fully stripped to her underwear, Sylvié sighed when she grabbed the dress. “Uh… Servant outfit…”
“Feeling nostalgic?”
“Absolutely not! I’d rather die than change Eleanor’s chamber pot again!” Sylvié began putting on the maid dress. “Plus you have to act all obedient and meek…” She tied the apron and put on the bonnet, before slipping into the booties.
Sylvié dragged the unconscious underwear-clad maid further in-between the flower bushes to conceal her.
“It’s a bit of a shame you didn’t want her underwear… It’d look stunning on you…”
“I prefer to buy mine.” Sylvié adjusted her apron and bonnet. “Besides, I’m convinced she planned for someone to see those undergarments. Call it a hunch, but a girl rarely looks after her haircut and undergarments like she did for no reason.”
She and Sand left the maid behind, and exited the bushes. They shared a nod and a smile with Nancy, then headed to the main building.
Van der Laar Estate, First Floor, 11:06 am
The inside of the Van der Laar manor was luxurious, but surprisingly decorated with taste. Clearly this wasn’t the house of a pompous “nouveau riche” feeling the need to flaunt their wealth.
It was also quite empty. They heard a maid and a field worker in the kitchen discussing how “Harold left to tend to the outer fences.” and “You know what that means…”, but that was it. No guard, no small army of servants. Whoever lived here was only employing the barest minimum of staff.
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié didn’t waste time with the ground floor. They immediately went to the bedrooms on the first floor.
In the main corridor, Nancy noticed a framed picture on a table. On the left, there was Victoria – looking as haughty and proud as ever in her bounty hunter clothes. On the right, a woman slightly younger and chubbier but with a family resemblance, clad in a humble-looking dress. In the middle, three children – one boy and two girls.
Strangely, there was no sign of the husband. In fact, many pictures featured the children and this unknown relative of Victoria.
Sylvié walked next to Nancy. “You’re alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Nancy turned the photo away. She didn’t want to think of Victoria’s family life.
Sand checked the nearby door. “This one leads to Victoria’s room.”
“Maybe we hit the jackpot…”
They entered a typical bedroom of a fancy manor – large two-persons bed, big wardrobe, small desk, trinkets and baubles. In a corner, there was a baby crib. The floor and furniture were however all covered by a layer of dust.
Sylvié was a bit confused. “Does she sleep on the couch when she visits or what?” She searched the desk, and quickly found out there was nothing here. Sand also did the same with the wardrobe, with the same result.
Nancy glared at the crib. Inside there were baby clothes, neatly folded and never worn. But also covered with dust.
“Let’s leave.” Nancy decided. “This room unnerves me.”
Once outside, she took one long breath. She couldn’t help but clutch her own belly – her own baby.
Sylvié exchanged a look with Sand, then asked: “You’re… sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine, I said!” Her retort was snappier than she wished. “Sorry. It’s just… some thoughts.”
“Let’s check the office room.” Sand proposed.
Nancy nodded.
11:14am
When Nancy discreetly opened the door, she saw there was already someone in the office room, checking some account books and letters while standing next to the desk.
The woman was wearing a plain-looking dress, and her hair were tied into a functional neck chignon, but Nancy recognized that inimitable hair color – in-between dark blond and light brown.
She put her index on her lips, urging her friends to remain quiet. Her foe’s back was turned on her – she moved silently inside, followed by Sand and Sylvié.
Nancy grabbed the woman from behind, and clamped her hand on her mouth. A part of her wanted to slit Victoria's throat, and be done with it, and to hell with Brett’s words.
However, she stopped her hand when she noticed something odd. The woman shared Victoria's peculiar hair color, but her face was rounder, and she had the wide hips of a woman who had given birth to several children. Plus, her muffled cries were a clear giveaway she was not a battle-hardened gunslinger.
"You're not Victoria." Nancy whispered.
The woman nodded frantically.
"I'll take off my hand. Scream, and I will slit your throat."
Another nod.
Sand closed the door as a safety precaution. While Nancy interrogated the woman, Sylvié went to read the account books and letters on the desk.
"Who are you?"
"Her sister... Elizabeth... Please... My children are in the next room… I’ll tell you where the money is… Please..."
Nancy finally recognized her. The woman in the pictures. She softened her grip ever so slightly. "I'm not going to hurt you if you don't scream. And I certainly won't hurt them. I just want information. What's going on here? Where's Victoria?"
"Vicky owns the estate, but she doesn't care about running it. She put my husband in charge."
"This seems needlessly convoluted. Even for white folks." Sand intervened. She moved close enough to enter Elizabeth’s personal space – her behavior was clearly threatening. “You’re hiding something.”
“N- No…”
“Of course you are. You’re from the same seed as Victoria. Deceit is in your blood.”
Nancy frowned. She found that her friend was unusually aggressive – as if she was somehow taking things personally. “Sand?”
The Navajo didn’t hear her. “Maybe we should bring your children here. Maybe that would convince you to tell us the truth.”
“Sand! You’re out of line!” Nancy interrupted her.
Her friend was briefly taken aback.
“I’ll handle it.” Nancy added.
“… Okay.”
"Victoria killed her husband." Nancy then said to Elizabeth, remembering Brett’s information. "Why wouldn't she want his estate?"
The other woman gulped, eyed Sand with a frightened expression, then confessed: "She doesn't want his estate. She wants revenge. She wants to make sure his bloodline disappears and his ancestral lands go to someone else."
"Why?"
"Because Vaclav was... He was…"
"Was what?"
"He was the worst piece of shit that ever lived!" Elizabeth finally blurted with a hate-filled sneer. And for one second, Nancy could see a bit of Victoria in her. "He beat her! He beat her, and broke her nose! Called her sinful... One day, when I was visiting them alone, he... he grabbed the brand... the brand for livestock... in the chimney... and he... Oh God... I still remember the smell... We told our parents... They said she had to take it for the family... The minister said she had to submit to God's law... And the sheriff said... said... Vaclav was an upstanding citizen and Victoria should know her place..." She was beginning to get hysterical. It was clear she had had those feelings on her conscience for years without being able to express them to someone. “And when Vicky was pregnant, he- he- he- Oh God! He kicked her in the stomach… And the baby…”
"You really should just knock her out, Nancy." Sand commented as Elizabeth was getting even more hysterical,
Nancy hesitated for a moment. "Damn it Sand, I won't hit a moth- What the hell?! Sand!" She cried as Sand ended Elizabeth's hysterics with a sharp blow to her temple. The woman let out a surprised cry as she collapsed unconscious in Nancy’s arms.
“What? She barely felt anything." Sand shrugged. "You were going to do that anyway, right?"
Nancy gently laid Elizabeth onto the carpet, and checked her vitals. Outside of a bruise, she’d be fine. “I didn’t want it to come to that.”
“I’m pretty sure we don’t need her to search the desk.” Sand objected.
“That’s not the only reason.” Nancy looked her friend in the eyes. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Judging someone you’ve never met? It’s not like you to make things so personal with a woman you barely know. Or to involve children.”
Sand briefly looked hesitant, as if she was only now realizing the full weight of her behavior. “I- She- Mother-”
“There’s nothing.” Sylvié intervened.
Sand and Nancy blinked.
“What?”
“There’s nothing illegal. All the incomes are legitimate.”
Nancy saw red. “Bastard! It’s another trick of his! He mounts this highly unusual and suspicious operation, only to keep it completely legal! Not only did we waste time, but now he’ll make us look like robbers!”
“Maybe this was not a complete waste of time…” Sylvié objected. She showed her a letter.
Nancy grabbed it. “Maximilian is hosting a huge gala at his… ‘Chateau’?” She rolled her eyes. “And… Oh! He sent Victoria the whole program. Well, well, well… It appears Maximilian is looking for a bride, so all the eligible girls of the State will travel to his estate... Looks like we have a second shot!” She memorized everything, then gave Sylvié the letter back. “Put it back where you’ve found it, make it look like we didn’t touch it.”
The French woman nodded.
Nancy looked at Sand. The Navajo was testing the strength of the curtains. “We should use those to bind and gag her. She’ll wake up soon.” She was once again being her pragmatic self – acting as if her previous outburst hadn’t happened.
Nancy chose to wait until the mission was over to have a talk with her friend. She contemplated the proposition. She didn’t find the idea appealing, but at the same time she couldn’t risk Elizabeth calling the guards – she wanted to avoid a bloodbath. Leaving her bound, gagged, and concealed in a cupboard was the best compromise.
Suddenly they heard the sound of footsteps and voices coming from beyond the door and getting closer.
"Shit! Sylvié, over here!" Nancy swore, taking Sand’s hand and darting into the nearest cupboard. Sylvié ran after her, and closed the door behind them. Just in time.
Victoria theatrically entered the room, with a group of the estate’s gunwomen escorting her.
“Hello Lizzie! Your favorite sister is here!” she exclaimed with wide open arms.
Nancy grabbed her gun, but muttered a curse to herself when she noticed Victoria was surrounded by three children – the oldest no more than ten or eleven – who all shared a strong family look with her and Elizabeth.
“You’re her only sister, Aunt Vicky.” the middle girl – a cute eight-year old who was holding the hand of her five-year-old sister – commented.
Victoria affectionately ruffled her hair. “That makes me the winner by default. I-”
Of course, Victoria cursed when she saw her unconscious sister lying on the floor.
“Blasted bitches! They came in here! Mary, take the girls and search the estate! I’ll protect the kids!”
“Got it boss.”
As they were leaving, Victoria stayed with Elizabeth and the children. She calmed the kids who had rushed to their mother with a few gentle words, then shook her sister to wake her up.
“What happened?!”
Elizabeth groaned and put a hand on her head. “No- Nothing… I fainted…”
Victoria grabbed her sister’s shoulders. “Don’t lie to me, Lizzie! Tell me where they are! I’ll blast their brains out!”
“Stop it…”
“Tell me!”
Elizabeth glared at her with a mixture of pain and defiance. “It’s YOUR FAULT, Vicky! YOURS! They came here because of you! They hurt me because of you! This is my life now because of YOU!”
“How- can you say it like it’s a bad life?! I gave you the most profitable estate in Louisiana! I gave you more money than you could ever dare hope for!”
“You gave me a cage! I was happy – just Harold, the kids, and I! And also you, had you wanted to stay with us! But you couldn’t understand that! That we could be poor and happy!”
“Poor AND happy? You could barely scrape a living! Was I just supposed to watch you be thrown into the streets once Harold couldn’t pay your rent?! Don’t you dare tell me the kids were better off with-”
The sisters stopped arguing when they noticed Elizabeth’s two young girls were beginning to sob.
Elizabeth hugged the kids to console them.
Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose. “Later… Not in front of the children… These bitches can be hiding anywhere… but they can’t have gone too far… They could even be...” Her eyes widened in understanding. She noticed the cupboard. “… in this very room…”
She was as fast at the draw as Nancy remembered. She grabbed her gun just as Nancy and Sand jumped out of the cupboard, their guns already at hand.
The children screamed. Elizabeth took all three of them in her arms and held them close to her. Victoria moved in front of her family to shield them with her body. She didn’t shoot however. She knew she wasn’t fast enough to defeat Nancy and Sand together, and she was afraid her family could get caught in the crossfire.
Nancy’s and Victoria’s eyes met.
The bounty hunter snarled, her gun aimed at Nancy’s forehead while both Nancy’s and Sand’s were aimed at hers. “So this is it? One final round?”
“In front of the children?” Nancy retorted. “I don’t think so. Drop your gun, and I promise we won’t shoot you. And next time we meet, we’ll pretend this never happened and we’ll kill each other as much as we like.”
Victoria’s right eye twitched.
Elizabeth lost it. “For the love of God Vicky, do it for them!” Her children were crying.
Victoria’s knuckles were white, and her hand shook ever so slightly. An ugly grimace twisted her lips, and in her eyes Nancy saw a mixture of hatred and defiance... But also fear – though not for herself. For the children. For her sister. Nancy remembered the many pictures in the estate – almost all were showing the kids and Elizabeth.
“Lizzie. Take the kids away from me.”
Then Victoria threw her gun away. Sand swiftly moved to kick it out of her reach.
“Satisfied?” Victoria glared defiantly at Nancy.
“In a way, yes.” Nancy answered in all honesty. Victoria was willing to sacrifice her life for her family – she’d give her that.
Nancy kept her gun in hand, but stopped aiming it directly at the bounty hunter. Victoria looked briefly dumbfounded by her choice to spare her, but she didn’t comment on that.
“But your master will be displeased.” Nancy added.
“I only ever had one master. I watched him choke in his own blood, on the very carpet you’re standing on.”
“Keep telling yourself that. You just have a leash of money now. Pretty it up however you like, Victoria. You're still the loyal lapdog feeding off scraps from Maximilian's table."
Victoria's eye twitched again.
"What's the matter, bitch? Cat got your tongue? Let's face it, at heart you’re just another outlaw – one with a fancier title is all. And you know what this means...?" She took out her sheriff's badge. "...that I will put you away or down just like any other outlaw." She gestured with her head to Elizabeth huddled with her children close. "They deserve better than you."
That made Victoria find her tongue. She opened her mouth. “You think a greenhorn like you can teach me life?! I-”
Sand punched her in the stomach with a mean hook before she could add anything, then she knocked her out by striking her on the back of the head with her revolver’s cross. Victoria fell onto the carpet with a dull thud. She was out cold.
Elizabeth squeaked. “Vicky!”
Nancy glared at her friend. “I hope this won’t become a habit.” she dryly commented.
“What? She would have called the guards on us. Besides, I didn’t shoot her.”
“You’re right. I wish I had thought of it first.”
“You used one hit too many.” Sylvié teased her playfully.
“Because she insulted you in Baton Rouge.”
Nancy turned towards Elizabeth.
The latter cowered again with her children, shielding them with her body. “The- The safe is behind the flower painting…”
Nancy holstered her gun to put her at ease. “Listen, we won’t hurt you or your children, nor do we want your money. And we’ll leave your sister like that. Just give us your key. We’ll lock you in the room, and be on our way. We don’t want to shoot the guards of the estate.”
Elizabeth handed it to her. “V- Vicky has a spare…”
Sand quickly searched the unconscious bounty hunter.
Nancy nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry I threatened you… and my friend punched you. She can be very straight-to-the-point.”
Elizabeth was staring at her with a mixture of confusion and wariness. “Y- You truly are a sheriff?”
“You don’t seem much surprised.”
“I know… the kind of things Vicky does for DeBeers… I tried convincing her to stop but she… she never listens… She always wants more money… for her… for- for us… she never has enough… I tell her I don’t need all that, but she…” Elizabeth couldn’t finish her sentence.
Sand found the other set of keys. Nancy nodded at her, and walked to the door. She glanced at Elizabeth before she locked the door. “Take care of your sister. She doesn’t know how lucky she is to have you.”
Van der Laar Estate, Stables, 11:27am
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié left the manor through the garden, and hurried to the stables of the estate. Nancy trusted Elizabeth wouldn’t try to go after them or call the guards – she suspected she’d stay with her children and her sister. But she knew Victoria would give chase after them the second she woke up and managed to break the door.
Luckily for them, the stables themselves weren’t guarded – they were in the middle of the estate. A few mounts were waiting, already saddled.
Sand glanced at Sylvié. “We could use those horses, but with your dress…”
“Maybe there are spare outfits in one stable?” Nancy proposed.
A female voice suddenly shouted in their backs. “Hey! What are you slackers doing here?!”
The newcomer was a gunslinger of the estate – a high-ranked one given her authoritative attitude. The woman was in her thirties, with a diamond-shaped face, black hair tied into a ponytail, an olive-colored tanned skin, and brown eyes. She was wearing sturdy brown boots, white trousers, a brown belt with a revolver holster, a plated red and black button up shirt, and a black-and-white waistcoat made of cow skin. A red scarf was tied around her neck.
They recognized the overseer they had observed at the gates. The one who had foolishly left Alice, Josephine, and Jenny on their own.
“Spare outfit found.” Sylvié commented with a small purr and a smile.
“I asked you a question! Who the hell are you guys? I have never seen you around!”
Nancy grabbed the overseer by the collar. “So nice of you to drop by.”
“Hey!”
The black-haired woman stopped talking when Nancy inserted the muzzle of her revolver in her mouth.
“Uh-uh?”
“Ah, much better.” She looked the woman in the eyes. “Now, let’s not make any hasty decisions or sudden moves. Wouldn’t want me to accidentally press the trigger?”
“Nuh-uh.” the overseer moaned.
“Good to see we’re both reasonable people. My friend here needs a change of outfit, and we’re in a bit of a hurry. We would be very grateful if you could just take your clothes off and give them to her.”
The nervous overseer was sweating. “Oh-khay…” she tried to say.
“So obliging…”
With shaky hands, the woman nervously removed her neckscarf, waistcoat, and shirt, kicked off her boots, unbelted her trousers, and dropped them onto the ground, stepping out of them. She was left clad in white underdrawers and a light grey chemise. The overseer was shaking slightly – she both feared for her life and feared she’d be asked to strip naked.
“Keep the rest.” Nancy said with a smile. “We haven’t thanked you properly by the way. It’s because of you we managed to sneak into the estate. Next time, maybe don’t leave the newbies on their own?”
The woman’s eyes widened.
Then Sand hit her on the back of the head with the cross of her revolver, knocking her out. Nancy caught the limp unconscious body, and laid her on the stomach. She and Sand grabbed two ropes on a hook in the stable to bind the overseer’s limbs, a thick scarf to gag her, and once the woman was restrained and silenced they dragged her in a nearby haystack to conceal her.
At the same time, Sylvié took off her servant outfit with a satisfied smile, and slipped into the overseer’s outfit.
“All set and ready to go.”
They each took one horse, and rode away.
Nancy, Clinton, Sand, and Sylvié were standing next to their horses on a small hill. They could see the outskirts of the Van der Laar Estate in the distance.
“This is it. The journey was a bit rocky, but we’ve reached our destination.” Sylvié glanced at her three companions. “By the way. This time, I’m coming with you.”
Nancy briefly hesitated. “They won’t just let us in. We’ll have to… “convince” some of them to part with their outfits. And you’re not exactly trained for combat. No offense.”
“None taken. But infiltration also requires a bit of finesse and silver tongue… and that isn’t exactly the best quality of either of you.” She eyed them a bit playfully. “No offense.”
Nancy chuckled, and Sand smiled. “None taken.” they both answered.
Sylvié then became serious. “I won’t be a hindrance. You’d be surprised by the skills you learn when you’re a servant. I may not know how to fight, but I know how to cajole people with words. I know how to stand in a room, and still be invisible because nobody ever pays attention to the help. I’ll follow all your orders, and if it’s too dangerous I’ll listen when you tell me to stay behind. I want to help. I want to be part of this group, not a burden. Just… let me come with you.” she begged.
There was a short beat. Nancy and Sand exchanged a look, and pondered their options.
Sand nodded.
“Okay. You’re in.” Nancy chose.
Sylvié beamed. “Thank you.”
“But Sylvié… One more thing. It’s very important.” Nancy looked her in the eyes. “You don’t need to prove yourself or earn your place. You’re part of our group, and have been the moment we agreed to travel together. We’re all equals. We will give you orders during the mission, but only because we have more experience. Don’t ever believe you’re less than us. Your opinion is worth the same as mine or Sand’s or Clint’s.”
Sylvié lost her smile, but it was because she was genuinely touched. “I’m… not used to that. I’ve spent all my life being an inferior…” she confessed earnestly.
Sand wrapped a protective arm around her. “Then your new life begins now, sweet sunrise.”
Sylvié leaned against her lover, enjoying the warmth of her embrace. “Sunrise… I love that nickname… It truly is a new dawn for me...”
Nancy left them have their moment, and kissed Clinton on the cheek. “Hope you don’t mind watching the horses.”
He shrugged. “The Van der Laar estate is an all-women paradise. I’d stick out like a sore thumb. Just promise me you’ll be careful. I heard the rumors. Those girls are ready to fight tooth and nail to protect their safe haven. Last time outlaws tried to raid this place and kidnap some women, they cut off their balls and left them to bleed out. I don’t think they’ll be much more merciful with female intruders.”
“Got it.” Nancy took a step forward. “Let’s go girls. Hopefully, our journey ends here… with enough proof to buy DeBeers a nice trip to the nearest prison.”
10:25am
A group of guards were stationed at the front gate of the Van der Laar estate. Sadly, they were too numerous and in open view, so attacking them was too risky. Still, Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié remained hidden in a hollow nearby for a short while, listening to their conversation and trying to assess the estate’s defenses.
Soon, they were rewarded by a useful piece of information when an overseer wearing a bright red scarf came from the inside of the estate to have a chat with the guards.
“Hey! Have you seen the three newest recruits?” she asked.
One sentry snorted. “Alice, Josephine, and Jenny? Yeah! The blonde looks hornier than a jackrabbit, the brunette has this weird accent, and the redhead is a true circus freak with her knives.”
“Bunch of weirdos… Elizabeth is really hiring the first comers lately…” an other guard complained. “As long as you’re a woman and you look for a roof, she’ll take you in…”
“Thank God Victoria has the common sense to hire enough competent gunslingers to make up for it! Can you imagine if she wasn’t here? An estate full of women. All the horny outlaws of the country would come to raid us!”
“I’d like to see them try, after what we did to the last ones…” one sentry said with a harsh grin. “Those bastards won’t rape any more women...”
“Where are the three freaks anyway?” another sentry asked the overseer.
“I didn't want to have them around me. Told them to watch the old stable yard. You know, the one we don’t use anymore.”
The sentries shared a chuckle together.
Nancy, Sylvié, and Sand also shared a smile – though for a different reason.
“I propose we pay a visit to these new recruits, ask them if they can help us be hired…” Nancy said.
Sand glanced at the oblivious sentries still laughing together. “And these morons think they’re being smart… But who’s the dumbest? The novice or the professional who leaves the novice on their own?”
Van der Laar Estate Stable Yard, 10:32am
Coming to the small stable yard, taking cover behind a rickety outbuilding Nancy spied the three novice female gunhands who were supposed to watch the area.
One was a pretty and slim-looking green-eyed white-skinned brunette of average size, with her hair tied into a loose bun. She was wearing a white stetson, blue flannel shirt and black long skirt with matching booties. She was leaning nonchalantly against a row of crates, looking very bored. From the conversation she had heard, Nancy assumed she was Josephine.
Another, an attractive blue-eyed strawberry blonde with a curvaceous body and a short ponytail was standing guard near a barrel, but was also regularly throwing the brunette looks of longing. She was wearing a green shirt, brown stetson and jeans with matching chaps and cowboy boots. Nancy supposed she was Alice.
The last was an athletic-looking round-faced redhead with a fit body, a lot of freckles on the cheeks and nose, greenish brown eyes, and wild curly red hair which she had tied into a loose long ponytail. She was wearing a black hat, a red button up shirt, and black jeans with a matching waistcoat and boots. She was busy training at knife throwing while her two partners watched the area. Nancy assumed she was Jenny.
All girls were armed with Colt 1851 Revolvers. Nancy also noticed one peculiar detail: All three gunhands were wearing around the neck a white scarf with the crest of the Van der Laar estate stitched onto it – a stylized ‘V’ in golden yellow threads.
Nancy turned to Sand and Sylvié, the two lovebirds.
"Right, those girls must be the new recruits and they have the clothes we need, thoughts?"
“I notice there’s no shortage of ropes to accommodate for those three ladies…” Sand noted as she saw coils of them hanging nearby. “We just need a way to pick them off one by one. The blonde will be our main obstacle. She’s the only vigilant one. The redhead’s busy with her knives, and the brunette’s already bored out of her mind.”
“I could use my coin.”
“I also have this.” Sylvié showed them a couple of small vials.
“What’s this? Some kind of weapon?”
“Close. Eleanor’s favorite brand of perfume. Can make someone sneeze worse than hayfever.” Peering around the corner, Sylvié smiled while looking at the brown-haired sentry. "The brunette is my size, I can use my perfume vials to distract her admirer while my adorable Sand..." she paused squeezing her lover's hand "...pulls her over the crates and I take her clothes. Using my disguise, I can lure Blondie into an ambush so Sand can steal her clothes. Finally, the redhead I can chat up buying you, Nancy, the time you need to put her to sleep and strip her down."
Sand grinned, kissing her French lover on the cheek.
“And here I thought my Clinton came up with the best plans but Sylvié, that's just sweet. " Nancy clapped her hands together. "Let’s get to it."
Peeling off to the right, Sand and Sylvié came to the stack of crates the brunette was leaning against. Taking her position just below the unsuspecting guard, Sand gave the signal for Sylvié to toss her vial at the furthest blonde guard. Hearing Alice sneeze, Sand quickly grabbed the brunette, clamping a hand over mouth pulling her over the boxes. Letting out a surprised squeak, Josephine barely had time to react as the Navajo punched her twice in the temple. She slumped unconscious onto the ground with a muffled grunt.
After sharing a quick passionate kiss with her lover while the defeated gunhand was lying at their feet, Sylvié quickly stripped out of her clothes before Sand helped her undress the sleeping brunette. She pulled off the booties and skirt while Sand dealt with the flannel shirt.
"This is all very exhilarating! It feels good to be the one stealing the clothes for once." she whispered excitedly as she got dressed in her stolen clothes.
She copied the brunette’s bun – though she did it with her own hair pins.
The former maid left Sand to bind and gag the unconscious Josephine with stolen ropes and a few strips of Sylvié’s former outfit. The gunhand was left clad only in a cream white lace vest and blue lace knickers – as Sylvié didn’t want to strip her girls naked.
Sylvié used the stetson to obscure her facial features, and walked over to the blonde who looked both pleased and shy, since the object of her affection was walking over.
"Why hello, beautiful." Sylvié said, fluttering her eyelashes the blonde’s way. "I've seen the way you look at me. Do you like what you see?" She seductively smiled stroking the woman's forearm.
The blonde – Alice – blushed all shades of red. “Was… Was it so obvious? S- Sorry Jo'… I- I didn’t want to… be creepy… It’s just… I didn't have the guts to approach you… I- I didn’t think you liked… you know… girls…”
Even then, she didn’t dare look at (the fake) Josephine’s face. Of course, Sylvié wasn’t complaining – it was making her deception easier. But the blonde was so shy and self-conscious, Sylvié couldn’t help but find her adorable. Platonically, of course. “Oh, you’re so cute, chérie…” She figured out maybe she could do something to bring Alice closer to her crush, to make up for the fact she was about to get knocked out and stripped naked...
Alice bit her lower lip, and looked at her boots. She was shifting nervously on her feet. "Wow, that accent… You’re from France? I- I thought it was Quebec… That’s why the others called you Frenchie…?"
Sylvié caressed the blonde’s heart-shaped features. "I'll wager there is more you don't know about little old me. How about we go somewhere more private and I can show you, pretty thing?"
The girl smiled, her big blue eyes glimmering with hope. "Ohh, lead the way sweetheart."
Leading the unsuspecting girl to her doom right where Sand was waiting, Sylvié smiled.
"Right here behind these boxes?" the blonde said disappointed. "I thought you meant behind the s-mmmph!"
As soon as they reached the row of crates, Sand clamped a hand around her mouth pulling her around the corner. Snaking her arm around the blonde’s slender neck, Sand squeezed cutting off the blood flow to the woman's brain.
"Sorry ma cherie, but I like my women more exotic." Sylvié quipped as she felt her tits perk up at the slight of the struggling blonde's eyes rolling back into her skull while her Indian lover was putting her to sleep. “But maybe I can help you get to know the girl of your dreams…” The blonde let out a cute sigh and slumped unconscious into Sand’s arms.
Dropping the sleeping blonde, Sylvié and Sand passionately kissed over her unconscious body.
The lovers then worked together to strip their second victim – including her peach satin shorts and white undershirt.
“You sure you’re fine with that?” Sand asked.
Sylvié nodded. “I trust you.” She took a glance at the unconscious underwear-clad Josephine concealed and trussed up in the empty stable nearby, and only clad in her undies. “Besides, I’d wager she will find a way to make the most of her predicament...”
Sand was soon dressed in the blonde’s clothes, having tied up and gagged the former (and now naked) owner. Sylvié asked her to leave Alice slumped shoulder to shoulder with Josephine – and although she didn’t see the point, she still complied. The blonde’s buoyant full breasts with dark pink puffy areolas and full womanhood topped with a triangle of blonde fuzz were on display.
With their disguises in place, the couple approached the redhead who was still busy throwing knives on a target. She was so engrossed by her practice, she hadn’t even noticed yet her two partners were gone.
Sharing a glance with Nancy who was discreetly approaching nearby, Sylvié and Sand baited the trap.
Sylvié cleared her throat. "What a fine morning it is, no?"
The redhead – Jenny – turned, and frowned. "Hello. Uh… Have we met? Where are Josephine and Alice?”
“We’ve spotted them behind those crates.” Sylvié winked. “They’re not wearing much clothes anymore if you catch my drift.”
“Not surprising. I’ve seen how Alice was looking at Jo’. Didn’t think she’d have the guts though. Good for her I guess.” the redhead said with a shrug. “Are you new hires too? Looks like they sent you here with us. Even gave you similar clothes. Must be some kind of hazing ritual…"
Sylvié nodded. "Oui, oui. I'm from the beautiful country of France and my friend here is from Mexico." Sand flashed her a smile.
Jenny nodded. "Sounds exotic. I've never been to France, what's it like?"
Sylvié looked the woman up and down, suggestively. "Well, it certainly doesn't have many pretty redheads like you around."
Jenny’s round freckled face blushed the same shade as her hair. "Really? Oh you, you're too swe-ugh!!" She cried as Nancy struck her on the back of the head with her revolver, and fell onto the ground with a dull thud.
"Well, well Sylvié. Aren't you full of surprises! Nice work!" Nancy winked, impressed, as she knelt by the redhead, rolling the unconscious girl onto her back before unbuttoning her blouse.
Giggling, Sylvié hugged Sand. "Glad to be of service, ma cherie "
While Nancy pulled off the redhead’s hat, waistcoat, shirt, boots, belt and trousers, the lovebirds fetched two more coils of ropes. They proposed to bind and gag the woman while Nancy got dressed in her new disguise.
Of course, the process was greatly turning them on. Sylvié gagged the girl with strips of clothes, Sand bound the redhead’s ankles with ropes, and then Sylvié didn’t resist the temptation to pull her lover into one passionate kiss. They hadn’t even finished binding the wrists…
As she finished putting on the shirt and waistcoat, Nancy rolled her eyes indulgently. She realized they wouldn’t stop making out immediately. Therefore, once she was in disguise, she finished binding Jenny’s wrists with rope, grabbed the gunhand under the shoulders, and dragged the scantily-clad bound and gagged woman – now dressed only in a blue chemise and matching underdrawers – behind the crates. She dropped Jenny in the empty stable next to Alice and Josephine, and closed it to conceal the trio. Then she came back dusting her hands.
By that time, Sylvié and Sand had finished making out.
"Well my sweet Clinton couldn't have planned that better himself, ladies." Nancy said. "Let's do this. We have an estate to visit."
They all wrapped two small coils of ropes around a shoulder, reasoning that nobody would question a trio of gunhands carrying some ropes – and they expected these would be of use.
Van der Laar Estate Grounds, 10:46am
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié were playing the part of the patrolling sentries, walking in plain sight in-between the fields and the warehouses with their hands on their Colts. They were however careful to make sure nobody got a good look at their faces, discreetly using their hats and scarves to obscure their faces. The workers in the fields and other sentries were too busy to talk to them – or even do more than give them a passing glance.
The estate was as Brett had described. Vast, prosperous, and filled to the brim with women. The workers were women, the overseers were women, even all the guards were women. Happy-looking women, who took joy in being allowed to earn their own salaries, dress like men if they wished so, and live an independent lifestyle.
Nancy admitted to herself she was a bit admiring of the idea. A shame this place was most likely used to hide illegal activities, at least Brett suspected it, but she knew most of these girls were in the dark about that. Hopefully, she could expose Victoria and DeBeers without having to dismantle this safe haven...
Sand was, as always, a bit more practical. She was quick to notice an odd detail about the guards. While there wasn’t a clear-cut uniform, she clearly deduced there was a strict hierarchy.
Workers talking with sentries wearing white scarves were acting informal – not disrespectful, but clearly speaking familiarly. On the other hand, they’d speak differently with the girls who wore black or red scarves, treating them like their supervisors.
“There seems to be some sort of dress code.” Sand discreetly mentioned another trio of women who were patrolling in open view, walking with an aura of confidence and authority. “Those guards look more important than the three we mugged, and they’re not wearing the same scarves.”
Nancy nodded, having come to the same conclusion. “I’d wager the white scarves mean we’re the lowest rank. People who aren’t allowed in the important parts like the main manor without a good reason.” She smiled. “I believe it’s time for a promotion.”
Sand assessed the three patrolling women. The first was a Mexican with a passing resemblance to her, the second was a slim redhead like Nancy, and the third was a cute brunette who looked a bit like Sylvié.
Nancy shook her head. “Not these ones. They’re too exposed. A bit of a shame, they’d have been perfect fits, but we need to find a place that’s a bit more discreet.”
**************
There was a river and small lake in the estate, they were used to water many fields. The biggest ones were used to grow cotton. A few sentries were scattered around to watch them.
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié found something of interest at the southern edge of the cotton fields, near a wooden shed and a small wooden gantry.
The two sentries were wearing red ponchos and black Stetson hats. One was standing near the shed. She was a slim blonde, most likely with some Northern European ancestry – white skin, icy blue eyes, and light blond hair. The other one was standing on the gantry. She was of Mexican ancestry, with her sepia skin tone, coarse black hair tied into a long braid, dark brown eyes, and oval-shaped head. They were armed with rifles.
The blond “poncho” wore dark blue jeans, a beige fringe top rodeo shirt, and dark brown boots. The black-haired one was clad in brown trousers, a red guayabera shirt, and light brown boots. Around their necks, there were black scarves with the crest of the estate, to show they were high-ranked guards – albeit not as high as the overseers wearing red scarves.
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié pretended to be busy with a nearby fence, and discreetly peered at their targets.
“These two are in each other’s line of sight. We can’t take one out as long as the other watches her.”
Sylvié nodded. “Let me try something.”
She walked to the blond one, emphasizing the movement of her hips. “Hey, good-looking-”
“No flirting while on duty.” the blond ‘poncho’ interrupted her, gently but firmly. “I’m sure you have some work to do, greenhorn. And if you don’t, I can find some.”
“On my way!”
Sylvié left as swiftly as she had come.
She returned to her two friends.
“Tough customer.”
“You can’t always win…” Nancy joked. She looked at Sand. “Let’s do it the old fashioned way.”
“Together?”
“Synchronized takeouts.”
“Got it.”
Sand used the cover of the cotton fields to approach the blond “poncho” without being noticed by the black-haired one. She was walking crouched down to hide in-between the plants.
At the same time, Nancy walked behind a fence, and then went under the gantry to approach the Mexican guard without being seen by the blonde.
Sand took position behind the small wooden shed on which the blond “poncho” was leaning.
Nancy threw her lucky coin. Intrigued by the sound, the Mexican girl turned her head. Nancy climbed onto the gantry, using the railing to not be seen by the blond guard, and swiftly flanked the black-haired ‘poncho’.
The two friends shared a quick nod.
Of course, the blond sentry noticed Nancy’s head suddenly peaking above the railing.
But it was too late now.
Nancy and Sand moved in perfect synchronization.
Sand wrapped snake-like arms around the blond sentry’s throat and neck and squeezed. The gunslinger tried to scream, but her cries of alarm were silenced by the sleeper-hold. She passed out. Sand dragged her out of sight in-between the shed and the cotton fields.
At the same time, from behind, Nancy clamped one hand onto the black-haired sentry’s mouth to muffle her shriek, and hit her with the cross of her revolver to knock her out. The sepia-skinned woman groaned, then her body went limp. She was out like a light.
Nancy and Sand laid the two unconscious bodies down, and crouched next to them to strip the gunslingers off their clothes.
With the black-haired Mexican sentry, Nancy stopped once the woman was down to her pair of white knickers with a floral motif, and light pink sleeveless top with white fringes.
Sand also took off the blonde’s peach colored satin half-chemise and matching drawers, exposing the woman's small but well rounded breasts with stiff pink rose petal areolas, full trimmed woman decorated with a strip of blonde fuzz and pert plum shaped buttocks to the Louisiana sun.
Nancy and Sand used their white neckscarfs as gags, knotting them behind the unconscious women’s heads. They didn’t bother to cut their former outfits into strips – they had carried ropes for this exact purpose. They bound each woman’s wrists and ankles.
Sand dragged the naked bound-and-gagged sentry inside the small shed she had been standing nearby, and stashed her there. Nancy dragged the Mexican “poncho”, and rolled her into some bushes under the gantry.
Then, they took off Alice’s and Jenny’s clothes to slip into the high-ranked guards' clothes and ponchos – and, most importantly, the black scarves. They concealed their current outfits in the cotton fields.
Once they were done, they regrouped with their third teammate.
Sylvié looked at Sand appreciatively. She playfully fidgeted with the neckscarf. “Black suits you better.”
Sand giggled.
“Van der Laar manor, here we come!” Nancy announced, while adjusting her poncho and scarf.
Van der Laar Estate, 10:58 am
The estate’s main mansion was your typical Southern manor. It probably used to belong to a slave owner. All the employees were now free women, but the architecture remained untouched.
The front court was a bit crowded, so Nancy opted to enter through the huge back garden. After observing the area, she was, however, not fully satisfied with their current disguises.
“We could use our outfits to enter the manor, but I think if we come across someone they would ask too many questions. Armed guards would need a reason to get in the building…”
Nancy scanned the gardens. When she spotted the lone maid taking a break on a bench under a grove of trees and enjoying the warm day, she smiled.
“Maids can come and leave the manor as they wish… And if one needs to do some heavy lifting, I’m sure she asks a few guards to help her…”
Sylvié sighed. “Talk about a tailor-made role… Okay. Leave that one to me.” She glanced at Sand. “And my sweet love.”
Nancy chuckled. “Okay. I’ll make sure the coast is clear.”
Sand took the lead, leading Sylvié behind the flower bushes of the garden. “Follow my steps.” She instructed her lover.
She walked crouched down, to make sure the bushes were concealing her presence. Sylvié followed her as best as she could.
They reached the bench in which the maid was sitting. She was a cute girl in her early twenties – probably around the same age as Sand and Sylvié themselves. Her curly auburn hair was tied into an elegant neck chignon. She was of average-size, with a cute heart-shaped face, a soft white skin, and a small pointy nose. The woman was dozing, her back turned on the predator who was stalking her.
Sand timed her assault perfectly. She wrapped an arm under the woman’s breasts, clamped a hand onto her mouth, and pulled her into the bushes.
The auburn-haired maid’s gorgeous blue-green eyes briefly opened in fright.
“Mhhhttt?!”
Sand let herself fall into a seated position, dragging the girl with her, and wrapped her legs around the maid’s waist to immobilize her. One tight sleeper-hold properly put the dozing woman to sleep.
Sylvié found the sight of her lover in complete control, with the cute maid futilely squirming and wriggling her body, quite arousing.
“Uuuhhh…” the maid moaned softly, before her body slumped into Sand’s grip like a ragdoll.
The young Navajo rolled the limp unconscious body on the stomach, got back on her feet, and removed the maid’s bonnet and booties.
"Ah, Ma cherie! I do so love it when you are so business-like with our victims. It gets my French blood boiling!" Sylvié said as she kissed the young Navajo’s neck, before stripping off her own clothes, starting with the boots. “I hope you weren’t too hard on the poor thing.”
Smiling, Sand finished pulling off the booties before grabbing the apron’s knot and untying it. “Don’t worry. It’s impressive-looking, but almost painless.”
“Good. Let her enjoy her beauty rest – not that she needs it.” Sylvié took off her white neckscarf. "Um, Sand my love?"
Sand looked up. "Yes, my sweet sunrise?" she asked, unbuttoning the maid’s dress at the same time.
"Just don't give me her underwear, I'm already wearing some."
Sand chuckled. "Now you sound like Nancy but anything for you." she teased.
“So obliging…” Sylvié giggled as she unclipped the belt of her trousers.
Sand pulled off the maid dress, leaving the auburn-haired young woman clad in a light pink knee-long underdress. This finely-crafted slip was adorned with white lace, and had shoulder straps. “You want her hair pins?”
Sylvié dropped her trousers, and walked out of them. “Let her keep them. She obviously put a lot of work in her haircut, and it looks good on her. Plus, I already have mine.”
As Sand grabbed the white neckscarf and ropes still tied on the belt of Sylvié’s discarded trousers, she also briefly caressed and groped the French girl’s butt, feeling her skin through her thin undergarments. Sylvié giggled, and kept unbuttoning her shirt.
Sand used the white neckscarf to gag the auburn-haired maid – the piece of cloth would be thick enough to silence her. She bound the girl’s wrists and legs with the ropes.
Having fully stripped to her underwear, Sylvié sighed when she grabbed the dress. “Uh… Servant outfit…”
“Feeling nostalgic?”
“Absolutely not! I’d rather die than change Eleanor’s chamber pot again!” Sylvié began putting on the maid dress. “Plus you have to act all obedient and meek…” She tied the apron and put on the bonnet, before slipping into the booties.
Sylvié dragged the unconscious underwear-clad maid further in-between the flower bushes to conceal her.
“It’s a bit of a shame you didn’t want her underwear… It’d look stunning on you…”
“I prefer to buy mine.” Sylvié adjusted her apron and bonnet. “Besides, I’m convinced she planned for someone to see those undergarments. Call it a hunch, but a girl rarely looks after her haircut and undergarments like she did for no reason.”
She and Sand left the maid behind, and exited the bushes. They shared a nod and a smile with Nancy, then headed to the main building.
Van der Laar Estate, First Floor, 11:06 am
The inside of the Van der Laar manor was luxurious, but surprisingly decorated with taste. Clearly this wasn’t the house of a pompous “nouveau riche” feeling the need to flaunt their wealth.
It was also quite empty. They heard a maid and a field worker in the kitchen discussing how “Harold left to tend to the outer fences.” and “You know what that means…”, but that was it. No guard, no small army of servants. Whoever lived here was only employing the barest minimum of staff.
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié didn’t waste time with the ground floor. They immediately went to the bedrooms on the first floor.
In the main corridor, Nancy noticed a framed picture on a table. On the left, there was Victoria – looking as haughty and proud as ever in her bounty hunter clothes. On the right, a woman slightly younger and chubbier but with a family resemblance, clad in a humble-looking dress. In the middle, three children – one boy and two girls.
Strangely, there was no sign of the husband. In fact, many pictures featured the children and this unknown relative of Victoria.
Sylvié walked next to Nancy. “You’re alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Nancy turned the photo away. She didn’t want to think of Victoria’s family life.
Sand checked the nearby door. “This one leads to Victoria’s room.”
“Maybe we hit the jackpot…”
They entered a typical bedroom of a fancy manor – large two-persons bed, big wardrobe, small desk, trinkets and baubles. In a corner, there was a baby crib. The floor and furniture were however all covered by a layer of dust.
Sylvié was a bit confused. “Does she sleep on the couch when she visits or what?” She searched the desk, and quickly found out there was nothing here. Sand also did the same with the wardrobe, with the same result.
Nancy glared at the crib. Inside there were baby clothes, neatly folded and never worn. But also covered with dust.
“Let’s leave.” Nancy decided. “This room unnerves me.”
Once outside, she took one long breath. She couldn’t help but clutch her own belly – her own baby.
Sylvié exchanged a look with Sand, then asked: “You’re… sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine, I said!” Her retort was snappier than she wished. “Sorry. It’s just… some thoughts.”
“Let’s check the office room.” Sand proposed.
Nancy nodded.
11:14am
When Nancy discreetly opened the door, she saw there was already someone in the office room, checking some account books and letters while standing next to the desk.
The woman was wearing a plain-looking dress, and her hair were tied into a functional neck chignon, but Nancy recognized that inimitable hair color – in-between dark blond and light brown.
She put her index on her lips, urging her friends to remain quiet. Her foe’s back was turned on her – she moved silently inside, followed by Sand and Sylvié.
Nancy grabbed the woman from behind, and clamped her hand on her mouth. A part of her wanted to slit Victoria's throat, and be done with it, and to hell with Brett’s words.
However, she stopped her hand when she noticed something odd. The woman shared Victoria's peculiar hair color, but her face was rounder, and she had the wide hips of a woman who had given birth to several children. Plus, her muffled cries were a clear giveaway she was not a battle-hardened gunslinger.
"You're not Victoria." Nancy whispered.
The woman nodded frantically.
"I'll take off my hand. Scream, and I will slit your throat."
Another nod.
Sand closed the door as a safety precaution. While Nancy interrogated the woman, Sylvié went to read the account books and letters on the desk.
"Who are you?"
"Her sister... Elizabeth... Please... My children are in the next room… I’ll tell you where the money is… Please..."
Nancy finally recognized her. The woman in the pictures. She softened her grip ever so slightly. "I'm not going to hurt you if you don't scream. And I certainly won't hurt them. I just want information. What's going on here? Where's Victoria?"
"Vicky owns the estate, but she doesn't care about running it. She put my husband in charge."
"This seems needlessly convoluted. Even for white folks." Sand intervened. She moved close enough to enter Elizabeth’s personal space – her behavior was clearly threatening. “You’re hiding something.”
“N- No…”
“Of course you are. You’re from the same seed as Victoria. Deceit is in your blood.”
Nancy frowned. She found that her friend was unusually aggressive – as if she was somehow taking things personally. “Sand?”
The Navajo didn’t hear her. “Maybe we should bring your children here. Maybe that would convince you to tell us the truth.”
“Sand! You’re out of line!” Nancy interrupted her.
Her friend was briefly taken aback.
“I’ll handle it.” Nancy added.
“… Okay.”
"Victoria killed her husband." Nancy then said to Elizabeth, remembering Brett’s information. "Why wouldn't she want his estate?"
The other woman gulped, eyed Sand with a frightened expression, then confessed: "She doesn't want his estate. She wants revenge. She wants to make sure his bloodline disappears and his ancestral lands go to someone else."
"Why?"
"Because Vaclav was... He was…"
"Was what?"
"He was the worst piece of shit that ever lived!" Elizabeth finally blurted with a hate-filled sneer. And for one second, Nancy could see a bit of Victoria in her. "He beat her! He beat her, and broke her nose! Called her sinful... One day, when I was visiting them alone, he... he grabbed the brand... the brand for livestock... in the chimney... and he... Oh God... I still remember the smell... We told our parents... They said she had to take it for the family... The minister said she had to submit to God's law... And the sheriff said... said... Vaclav was an upstanding citizen and Victoria should know her place..." She was beginning to get hysterical. It was clear she had had those feelings on her conscience for years without being able to express them to someone. “And when Vicky was pregnant, he- he- he- Oh God! He kicked her in the stomach… And the baby…”
"You really should just knock her out, Nancy." Sand commented as Elizabeth was getting even more hysterical,
Nancy hesitated for a moment. "Damn it Sand, I won't hit a moth- What the hell?! Sand!" She cried as Sand ended Elizabeth's hysterics with a sharp blow to her temple. The woman let out a surprised cry as she collapsed unconscious in Nancy’s arms.
“What? She barely felt anything." Sand shrugged. "You were going to do that anyway, right?"
Nancy gently laid Elizabeth onto the carpet, and checked her vitals. Outside of a bruise, she’d be fine. “I didn’t want it to come to that.”
“I’m pretty sure we don’t need her to search the desk.” Sand objected.
“That’s not the only reason.” Nancy looked her friend in the eyes. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Judging someone you’ve never met? It’s not like you to make things so personal with a woman you barely know. Or to involve children.”
Sand briefly looked hesitant, as if she was only now realizing the full weight of her behavior. “I- She- Mother-”
“There’s nothing.” Sylvié intervened.
Sand and Nancy blinked.
“What?”
“There’s nothing illegal. All the incomes are legitimate.”
Nancy saw red. “Bastard! It’s another trick of his! He mounts this highly unusual and suspicious operation, only to keep it completely legal! Not only did we waste time, but now he’ll make us look like robbers!”
“Maybe this was not a complete waste of time…” Sylvié objected. She showed her a letter.
Nancy grabbed it. “Maximilian is hosting a huge gala at his… ‘Chateau’?” She rolled her eyes. “And… Oh! He sent Victoria the whole program. Well, well, well… It appears Maximilian is looking for a bride, so all the eligible girls of the State will travel to his estate... Looks like we have a second shot!” She memorized everything, then gave Sylvié the letter back. “Put it back where you’ve found it, make it look like we didn’t touch it.”
The French woman nodded.
Nancy looked at Sand. The Navajo was testing the strength of the curtains. “We should use those to bind and gag her. She’ll wake up soon.” She was once again being her pragmatic self – acting as if her previous outburst hadn’t happened.
Nancy chose to wait until the mission was over to have a talk with her friend. She contemplated the proposition. She didn’t find the idea appealing, but at the same time she couldn’t risk Elizabeth calling the guards – she wanted to avoid a bloodbath. Leaving her bound, gagged, and concealed in a cupboard was the best compromise.
Suddenly they heard the sound of footsteps and voices coming from beyond the door and getting closer.
"Shit! Sylvié, over here!" Nancy swore, taking Sand’s hand and darting into the nearest cupboard. Sylvié ran after her, and closed the door behind them. Just in time.
Victoria theatrically entered the room, with a group of the estate’s gunwomen escorting her.
“Hello Lizzie! Your favorite sister is here!” she exclaimed with wide open arms.
Nancy grabbed her gun, but muttered a curse to herself when she noticed Victoria was surrounded by three children – the oldest no more than ten or eleven – who all shared a strong family look with her and Elizabeth.
“You’re her only sister, Aunt Vicky.” the middle girl – a cute eight-year old who was holding the hand of her five-year-old sister – commented.
Victoria affectionately ruffled her hair. “That makes me the winner by default. I-”
Of course, Victoria cursed when she saw her unconscious sister lying on the floor.
“Blasted bitches! They came in here! Mary, take the girls and search the estate! I’ll protect the kids!”
“Got it boss.”
As they were leaving, Victoria stayed with Elizabeth and the children. She calmed the kids who had rushed to their mother with a few gentle words, then shook her sister to wake her up.
“What happened?!”
Elizabeth groaned and put a hand on her head. “No- Nothing… I fainted…”
Victoria grabbed her sister’s shoulders. “Don’t lie to me, Lizzie! Tell me where they are! I’ll blast their brains out!”
“Stop it…”
“Tell me!”
Elizabeth glared at her with a mixture of pain and defiance. “It’s YOUR FAULT, Vicky! YOURS! They came here because of you! They hurt me because of you! This is my life now because of YOU!”
“How- can you say it like it’s a bad life?! I gave you the most profitable estate in Louisiana! I gave you more money than you could ever dare hope for!”
“You gave me a cage! I was happy – just Harold, the kids, and I! And also you, had you wanted to stay with us! But you couldn’t understand that! That we could be poor and happy!”
“Poor AND happy? You could barely scrape a living! Was I just supposed to watch you be thrown into the streets once Harold couldn’t pay your rent?! Don’t you dare tell me the kids were better off with-”
The sisters stopped arguing when they noticed Elizabeth’s two young girls were beginning to sob.
Elizabeth hugged the kids to console them.
Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose. “Later… Not in front of the children… These bitches can be hiding anywhere… but they can’t have gone too far… They could even be...” Her eyes widened in understanding. She noticed the cupboard. “… in this very room…”
She was as fast at the draw as Nancy remembered. She grabbed her gun just as Nancy and Sand jumped out of the cupboard, their guns already at hand.
The children screamed. Elizabeth took all three of them in her arms and held them close to her. Victoria moved in front of her family to shield them with her body. She didn’t shoot however. She knew she wasn’t fast enough to defeat Nancy and Sand together, and she was afraid her family could get caught in the crossfire.
Nancy’s and Victoria’s eyes met.
The bounty hunter snarled, her gun aimed at Nancy’s forehead while both Nancy’s and Sand’s were aimed at hers. “So this is it? One final round?”
“In front of the children?” Nancy retorted. “I don’t think so. Drop your gun, and I promise we won’t shoot you. And next time we meet, we’ll pretend this never happened and we’ll kill each other as much as we like.”
Victoria’s right eye twitched.
Elizabeth lost it. “For the love of God Vicky, do it for them!” Her children were crying.
Victoria’s knuckles were white, and her hand shook ever so slightly. An ugly grimace twisted her lips, and in her eyes Nancy saw a mixture of hatred and defiance... But also fear – though not for herself. For the children. For her sister. Nancy remembered the many pictures in the estate – almost all were showing the kids and Elizabeth.
“Lizzie. Take the kids away from me.”
Then Victoria threw her gun away. Sand swiftly moved to kick it out of her reach.
“Satisfied?” Victoria glared defiantly at Nancy.
“In a way, yes.” Nancy answered in all honesty. Victoria was willing to sacrifice her life for her family – she’d give her that.
Nancy kept her gun in hand, but stopped aiming it directly at the bounty hunter. Victoria looked briefly dumbfounded by her choice to spare her, but she didn’t comment on that.
“But your master will be displeased.” Nancy added.
“I only ever had one master. I watched him choke in his own blood, on the very carpet you’re standing on.”
“Keep telling yourself that. You just have a leash of money now. Pretty it up however you like, Victoria. You're still the loyal lapdog feeding off scraps from Maximilian's table."
Victoria's eye twitched again.
"What's the matter, bitch? Cat got your tongue? Let's face it, at heart you’re just another outlaw – one with a fancier title is all. And you know what this means...?" She took out her sheriff's badge. "...that I will put you away or down just like any other outlaw." She gestured with her head to Elizabeth huddled with her children close. "They deserve better than you."
That made Victoria find her tongue. She opened her mouth. “You think a greenhorn like you can teach me life?! I-”
Sand punched her in the stomach with a mean hook before she could add anything, then she knocked her out by striking her on the back of the head with her revolver’s cross. Victoria fell onto the carpet with a dull thud. She was out cold.
Elizabeth squeaked. “Vicky!”
Nancy glared at her friend. “I hope this won’t become a habit.” she dryly commented.
“What? She would have called the guards on us. Besides, I didn’t shoot her.”
“You’re right. I wish I had thought of it first.”
“You used one hit too many.” Sylvié teased her playfully.
“Because she insulted you in Baton Rouge.”
Nancy turned towards Elizabeth.
The latter cowered again with her children, shielding them with her body. “The- The safe is behind the flower painting…”
Nancy holstered her gun to put her at ease. “Listen, we won’t hurt you or your children, nor do we want your money. And we’ll leave your sister like that. Just give us your key. We’ll lock you in the room, and be on our way. We don’t want to shoot the guards of the estate.”
Elizabeth handed it to her. “V- Vicky has a spare…”
Sand quickly searched the unconscious bounty hunter.
Nancy nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry I threatened you… and my friend punched you. She can be very straight-to-the-point.”
Elizabeth was staring at her with a mixture of confusion and wariness. “Y- You truly are a sheriff?”
“You don’t seem much surprised.”
“I know… the kind of things Vicky does for DeBeers… I tried convincing her to stop but she… she never listens… She always wants more money… for her… for- for us… she never has enough… I tell her I don’t need all that, but she…” Elizabeth couldn’t finish her sentence.
Sand found the other set of keys. Nancy nodded at her, and walked to the door. She glanced at Elizabeth before she locked the door. “Take care of your sister. She doesn’t know how lucky she is to have you.”
Van der Laar Estate, Stables, 11:27am
Nancy, Sand, and Sylvié left the manor through the garden, and hurried to the stables of the estate. Nancy trusted Elizabeth wouldn’t try to go after them or call the guards – she suspected she’d stay with her children and her sister. But she knew Victoria would give chase after them the second she woke up and managed to break the door.
Luckily for them, the stables themselves weren’t guarded – they were in the middle of the estate. A few mounts were waiting, already saddled.
Sand glanced at Sylvié. “We could use those horses, but with your dress…”
“Maybe there are spare outfits in one stable?” Nancy proposed.
A female voice suddenly shouted in their backs. “Hey! What are you slackers doing here?!”
The newcomer was a gunslinger of the estate – a high-ranked one given her authoritative attitude. The woman was in her thirties, with a diamond-shaped face, black hair tied into a ponytail, an olive-colored tanned skin, and brown eyes. She was wearing sturdy brown boots, white trousers, a brown belt with a revolver holster, a plated red and black button up shirt, and a black-and-white waistcoat made of cow skin. A red scarf was tied around her neck.
They recognized the overseer they had observed at the gates. The one who had foolishly left Alice, Josephine, and Jenny on their own.
“Spare outfit found.” Sylvié commented with a small purr and a smile.
“I asked you a question! Who the hell are you guys? I have never seen you around!”
Nancy grabbed the overseer by the collar. “So nice of you to drop by.”
“Hey!”
The black-haired woman stopped talking when Nancy inserted the muzzle of her revolver in her mouth.
“Uh-uh?”
“Ah, much better.” She looked the woman in the eyes. “Now, let’s not make any hasty decisions or sudden moves. Wouldn’t want me to accidentally press the trigger?”
“Nuh-uh.” the overseer moaned.
“Good to see we’re both reasonable people. My friend here needs a change of outfit, and we’re in a bit of a hurry. We would be very grateful if you could just take your clothes off and give them to her.”
The nervous overseer was sweating. “Oh-khay…” she tried to say.
“So obliging…”
With shaky hands, the woman nervously removed her neckscarf, waistcoat, and shirt, kicked off her boots, unbelted her trousers, and dropped them onto the ground, stepping out of them. She was left clad in white underdrawers and a light grey chemise. The overseer was shaking slightly – she both feared for her life and feared she’d be asked to strip naked.
“Keep the rest.” Nancy said with a smile. “We haven’t thanked you properly by the way. It’s because of you we managed to sneak into the estate. Next time, maybe don’t leave the newbies on their own?”
The woman’s eyes widened.
Then Sand hit her on the back of the head with the cross of her revolver, knocking her out. Nancy caught the limp unconscious body, and laid her on the stomach. She and Sand grabbed two ropes on a hook in the stable to bind the overseer’s limbs, a thick scarf to gag her, and once the woman was restrained and silenced they dragged her in a nearby haystack to conceal her.
At the same time, Sylvié took off her servant outfit with a satisfied smile, and slipped into the overseer’s outfit.
“All set and ready to go.”
They each took one horse, and rode away.
I remember coming up with the three stoogettes takedown as a clear reference to Desperados III gameplay; complete with sight lines and the careful timing. Which is further reflected in the poncho takeout scene. 
), I wrote it as a scene straight out of a Desperados 3 playthrough and rufus enjoyed it so much that very little has changed from that first draft. I enjoyed writing it so much. 