The Loner: Inferno

Chapter 23

Kelly returned Guzman’s smile and didn’t miss a beat as he replied, “You could do that, certainly, Capitán. But if you did, it would cost you money in the long run.”

A stream of guttural language erupted from Salvatorio. The Kid didn’t speak any Apache, but he was pretty sure what the war chief was saying wasn’t flattering.

Kelly let Salvatorio’s unleashed venom run down, then went on. “There’s no rule that says the people you do business with have to like each other, Captain. I’m perfectly willing to back off and let you finish your transaction with Salvatorio. Then you and I can come to an arrangement of our own.”

“My business with the chief is already done,” Guzman said. “He was just leaving.”

“You might want to ask him to wait around for a while,” Kelly suggested. “The proposition I have for you involves him as well.”

Interest sparked in Guzman’s eyes. The Kid read greed there as well.

“Salvatorio’s associates are downstairs eating,” Guzman said. “I’ll have him taken to join them while you and I discuss matters, Kelly.”

The conversation made it pretty obvious the war chief didn’t speak or understand any English. Guzman spoke in rapid Spanish to Salvatorio, peppering the conversation with Apache words he must have picked up from dealing with the Indians. Salvatorio didn’t look happy, but he nodded curtly and turned to leave the room.

As he passed Kelly, his hand twitched a little toward the handle of the knife tucked behind his sash. The Kid saw Kelly’s hand shift slightly, moving closer to the butt of his gun. But both men controlled the impulse to kill, and Salvatorio left the room.

When the war chief was gone, Guzman said, “Come, have a drink with me, my friends. And while I am acquainted with three of these hombres, this one is a stranger to me.” He nodded toward The Kid.

“I do not like having strangers in my home,” Guzman continued. “Introduce us, Señor Kelly.”

“This is Morgan,” Kelly said. “Some folks call him The Kid. He’s riding with us now.”

“Ah. El Keed,” Guzman said, deliberately exaggerating the accent. “There have been others of your countrymen called by such a name, Señor Morgan, and they were all fast with a gun. Are you fast with a gun, as well?”

“Fast enough that I’m still alive,” The Kid replied.

The answer brought a laugh from Guzman. “An excellent response. At the end of the day, survival is the most important thing, is it not? Come, Señor Morgan, have a drink.”

Instead of the tequila, pulque, or mescal The Kid expected, Guzman poured snifters of what smelled like fine brandy. Tasted like it, too, The Kid discovered as he took a sip. It was more confirmation Guzman had expensive tastes. They all drank except Mateo.

“Now, what is this business you wish to discuss with me, Señor Kelly?”

Kelly tossed back the rest of his drink. “We have forty-four Apache scalps, Captain. Are you still paying a hundred dollars apiece?”

“A hundred in gold, in American dollars, yes,” Guzman replied with a nod. “As long as they are scalps from warriors. Women and children bring less, you know.”

“These scalps all came from Salvatorio’s war party.”

“I thought as much, from the way the chief reacted to the sight of you and your amigos. The Apaches hate you even more than they hate us.”

“That doesn’t bother me one blessed bit,” Kelly said.

“So, you wish to collect the bounty on these scalps you mention?”

“That’s right. And there are some more we’d like to collect as well.”

“More scalps, you mean?” Guzman asked with a frown.

“That’s right. Salvatorio and the rest of his men.”

For a long moment, Guzman just stared at Kelly. Then he said, “You are nothing if not audacious, señor. You know that a state of truce exists between me and the chief. Yet you come in here and ask me to jeopardize that state of peace simply so you can collect more blood money?”

A harsh note crept into Kelly’s voice. “Don’t talk to me about blood money, Captain. We’ve both stuffed plenty of it in our pockets.”

Anger flickered in Guzman’s dark eyes, but after a second he shrugged. “Go on. I cannot consider a plan if I do not know what it is.”

“I want the full bounty on the scalps we’ve already taken,” Kelly said firmly. “But as for the others, we’ll take half the money and you can have the other half. And you can blame the killings on us. Like you said, the Apaches already hate us. They can’t want us any deader than they already do.”

The Kid could tell Guzman was considering it. The Mexican government wanted the Apaches wiped out, but an army couldn’t do it. The Indians would just withdraw deeper into the mountains and hide until the soldiers grew tired and returned to where they came from.

The only way to get rid of the Apaches was piecemeal, killing smaller numbers of them when the opportunity presented itself, and for a job like that, scalphunters like Kelly and the others were the perfect tools.

The number of warriors still living in the mountain strongholds had already dwindled enough that sending the scalps of more than sixty Apache fighting men to Mexico City would be a definite feather in Guzman’s cap. As long as the politicians thought he was doing a good job, he could continue to play all sides against the others and keep amassing a small fortune from his slave trade. So the deal Kelly proposed would benefit Guzman in several different ways.

“What you suggest requires treachery on my part, Señor Kelly,” the captain finally said. “I would have to betray the chief. I am an honorable man.”

“Of course you are,” Kelly agreed without hesitation. “But a man’s word given to a primitive savage like Salvatorio ... well, that’s not really the same thing as giving your word to another gentleman, now is it?”

Guzman thought it over some more and slowly nodded. “What you say is true, Señor Kelly. If you were to do this, how would it be arranged?”

“The rest of Salvatorio’s men are close by, correct?”

Guzman nodded. “They wait a short distance south of here.”

“You need to get them inside the walls. Once they’re in, your men can open fire.”

“Which would be breaking the truce,” Guzman pointed out.

“If they’re all dead, who would ever know that? You could spread whatever rumor you wanted about it and say it was me and my friends who killed them.”

For a moment, Guzman looked like he could go along with that, but then his features hardened and he shook his head. “It will not work. The rest of the Apaches will not come inside the walls. Even if we threatened the lives of Salvatorio and the men with him, the others would not come in.”

“You’re not going to threaten anybody.” A sly smile stole over Kelly’s face. “You’re going to give them something they want, and that’s how my friends and I are going to earn our share of the bounty.”

“What do you mean by this?” Guzman asked, but The Kid suddenly had a pretty good idea of where Kelly was going with the plan.

He didn’t like it, either.

“You’re going to give those savages exactly what they want,” Kelly said again as he lifted a hand and made a sweeping gesture taking in himself, The Kid, Chess, Valdez, and Mateo. “You’re going to give them us.”