If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Side Story 9

“Sharpshooter, are you ready?” Locke asked teasingly. It seemed he was doing so in hopes that she wouldn’t get too nervous in a situation like this.

Georgiana, having holstered her pistol in the holder he’d prepared for her, nodded. Then she gently pushed his back and said, “I’ll be fine on my own here, so don’t worry and go.”

It was clear that Locke was hesitating because she was here, even though he needed to step outside to assess the situation.

She also preferred being with Locke, but they couldn’t both just remain armed and guarding inside like a fortress.

She was also concerned about only having sent Henry out.

Locke looked at Georgiana and hesitated for a moment.

It seemed he wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone under the current circumstances. Letting out a sigh, he said, “It’s not that I don’t trust you when you say you’ll be fine. It’s just hard to predict what might happen, and I don’t feel good about leaving you.”

Georgiana smiled gently and patted his shoulder. “Locke, you know how strong I am. Please believe that I’ll be okay.”

Her gaze, fixed on Locke, was unwavering.

In the end, he nodded and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Alright. But don’t push yourself. If anything happens, you must tell me right away. You have to stay safe. Can you promise me that?”

Looking up at him, Georgiana nodded. “I promise. No matter what happens, I’ll be safe.”

At her words, Locke turned to leave—but stopped again before opening the door.

“Make sure you keep that promise.”

“Don’t worry and go.”

Still lingering, he finally opened the door and stepped into the hallway. She could faintly hear the armed guards explaining the situation to him.

She parted the curtains slightly and peeked outside, then heard footsteps approaching the window.

It was too dark to tell whether it was an enemy or an ally.

Georgiana tightened her grip on her gun and lowered herself to the floor.

Even though the window was securely locked, a creeping sense of tension rose in her chest.

She was about to consider calling for Locke again—when she suddenly heard rustling from the ceiling, not the window.

Someone was moving above.

With a sense of dread, her head turned upward with a creak.

At that moment, she made eye contact with a strange man peering down through the ventilation shaft installed in the ceiling.

The man’s eyes widened as if they might pop out, having clearly seen her face.

Seizing the moment of his surprise, Georgiana pulled the trigger, aiming at the man’s right shoulder.

Bang—!

The gunshot echoed through the small cabin like a reverberating bell.

Judging by the man’s scream and the splatter of red blood from the ceiling dripping to the floor, it had hit.

Bang. Bang.

She fired again toward the vent just in case, but there was no further response.

At the same time, the door flung open.

“Georgiana!”

Locke burst in, pale-faced.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. But there was someone up there.” Georgiana pointed to the ceiling and spoke quickly.

The moment Locke heard her, he immediately raised his gun and aimed it at the ceiling.

“There are more of them up top.”

Simultaneously, Locke shouted in a commanding voice to the guards who had followed him in, all while keeping his eyes on the ceiling.

Then, the vent burst open, and something suddenly dropped from above.

Judging by the uninjured shoulder, it wasn’t the man she had shot.

Before the intruder could even find his footing, Locke fired.

The bullet pierced the man’s wrist, and the thug screamed, clutching his arm as he collapsed.

The gun he dropped hit the floor with a loud clatter.

Locke didn’t miss the moment. He quickly approached, twisted the man’s arm, and subdued him.

“Let go of me!”

The thug resisted violently, but having already taken a serious injury to one hand, it wasn’t difficult to overpower him.

“P-please spare me.”

Now fully restrained, the man lowered his head and pleaded.

Locke glared at him and asked, “What was the purpose of stopping the train?”

“The boss said the train would be full of expensive goods and suggested we rob it.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Well…”

As the man hesitated to reveal their full strength, the guard twisted his arm.

“If you don’t want to lose that arm completely, you’d better answer the Vice President properly.”

“V-Vice President?”

The man’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.

He glanced back and forth between Locke and Georgiana.

Since newspapers circulated even in rural areas, there weren’t many who didn’t recognize Locke and Georgiana’s faces.

As he turned his head rapidly, despair spread across the man’s face.

“I… I never dreamed the Vice President would be aboard. Please forgive me.”

Looking even more pitiful, the man begged for mercy.

“So if regular civilians were on board, it would’ve been okay to attack them? Stop talking nonsense and answer the questions.”

Prodded again by the guard, the man stammered on.

“N-no, absolutely not. Th-there are nineteen of us. Half were to create a distraction outside while the other half entered the passenger cars to steal valuables. Since we couldn’t open the train doors, we tried to come in through the ceiling.”

“You lot were the ones who destroyed the tracks too?”

“Yes.”

Unable to flee with one arm lost, the man admitted easily.

“Where did you get the explosives?”

“When the war ended two years ago, gunpowder was released at low prices. I heard most gangs bought it back then.”

At that, Locke’s brows furrowed.

If left alone, these criminals could cause trouble every time a train passed.

If, like today, the train happened to have many guards, it might be manageable—but for the general public, they would be completely defenseless.

While Locke deliberated with a serious expression, Georgiana looked at the man and asked, “That means the other gangs in the area must have explosives too. Do you know anything about the size or strength of the local gangs?”

The man flushed slightly and replied, “I’m just a grunt, so I don’t know much, but our boss knows everything about this region.”

“You said your boss is outside now, right?”

“Yes.”

Gunfire was still echoing from outside. Listening carefully to the noise, Georgiana called out to Locke.

“Locke, I think we should take care of things outside first. And not just these guys—we should deal with the other gangs too, so this doesn’t happen again.”

“I think so too.”

“In that case, I’ll help.”

As Georgiana picked up her pistols in both hands, Locke let out a deep sigh.

***

“Surrender. Then I’ll spare your lives.”

A brown-haired man ordered with confidence, gesturing to his comrades.

Having once served in the military, Huxler recognized the discipline in the man’s movements—it was clear he’d been a soldier for quite a while.

At the man’s command, his subordinates quickly formed up and surrounded Huxler and his gang.

Faced with the swift, skilled formation of the enemy, Huxler’s men began to waver.

“Don’t retreat!”

He gritted his teeth and shouted to steady them.

But it didn’t last long—soon, the subordinates who had tried to board the train were captured by the guards and dragged out. Their formation quickly fell apart.

The remaining gang members turned their backs on him and started to flee.

Huxler shut his eyes tightly, then opened them and looked toward the train.

It was far larger than expected. So were the number of armed men. And then…!

His eyes widened as he saw a group dragging out a bound prisoner from the train.

His gaze fixed on the tall man with black hair.

‘No way—the Vice President?’

Huxler, who read the newspapers religiously for information he considered as vital as his own life, recognized Locke at once.

And unbelievably, standing beside the Vice President was the most famous woman on the New World: Lady Rivern.

He let out a deep sigh.

Seeing those two, he immediately realized why his plan had failed.

No wonder. No matter how valuable the cargo, there was no way such a large group would have boarded the train otherwise.

Having lost all will to fight, his shoulders slumped.

Even the most reckless gang wouldn’t dare raise a hand against the President’s granddaughter and the Vice President and his wife.

“All of you, surrender!” he shouted at his fleeing subordinates.