New Gods of North America

After a chaotic half-day, the detectives returned to the valley and began to clean up the scene according to standards such as "valuable", "can be exchanged for bounty", and "non-recyclable".

What everyone did was not too complicated: choose a suitable location, blast the mountain walls on both sides, and throw some high explosives in the middle.

After the members in front went around, they followed the road to find the high ground, and then started shooting.

Not all the bandits were trapped in the ambush; those at the rear of the group, seeing that the situation was not good, must have escaped a few.

However, the most valuable wanted criminals on the wanted list were basically all there—two of them were even brought back by Lina, said to be called "First Mate" and "Third Mate".

And they were all alive.

It is said that the steam train slowed down again before reaching the railway bridge, and finally passed safely under Lina's on-site instructions.

One of the wanted criminals jumped off the train at that time trying to escape, but was caught.

This gang called "Garry's Adventure" has a relatively advanced organizational structure that is relatively "flat".

So after several gang leaders in the valley were killed, the remaining bandits quickly raised the white flag.

Wayne asked the detectives to tie the prisoners' hands in the style of the colony's plantations, and then tie ropes to their ankles and knees, leaving a little distance so they could walk but not run, and finally connect their necks together in a long string.

When fighting more with less, you have to be ruthless before the other party surrenders.

So many horses were lost, not all of them died, but even in modern society, horses are basically abandoned once they injure their legs. Except for a few valuable stallions that have the opportunity to see a veterinarian, most of the rest can only meet the butcher.

The bullets on both sides were also almost used up.

That William Kidd is also an interesting person, giving the bandits code names that are shipboard positions, but the captain himself only has a bounty of 200 US dollars, and the other wanted criminals have even less.

Mainly relying on volume, the initial total is 1100 US dollars, plus the steam train company's 20% surcharge, it is only 1320 US dollars, not as much as the bartender previously promoted.

Roughly estimating the value of horses, guns, and miscellaneous spoils together, the total income is estimated to be able to break through the 2000 US dollar threshold, more or less, depending on the market price.

The rest depends on what the steam train company will offer.

During this period, the leader of a bounty hunter team came over, seemingly wanting to question them.

However, the detective agency's ammunition reserves at this time were not as much as usual, so they were very vigilant. In addition, there were prisoners and corpses nearby in numbers similar to the detectives, which seemed quite "solemn".

Therefore, the other party withdrew after only a few words, using the excuse of chasing the remaining escaped gang members.

It is very troublesome to carry a bunch of prisoners; they can't walk fast, and crowding them on horses hurts the horses.

Fortunately, the bandits had prepared two carriages not far away to pull the stolen goods in advance. The detectives tossed around for a while and changed them into carriages for pulling people and dead people. The density was a bit high, but no one objected.

It took nearly two days to reach another nearby town.

The local sheriff hadn't taken on such a "big job" before, and the iron cages in the police station couldn't hold them all.

If Wayne hadn't gone to the church with a letter of recommendation written by Tom Hagen and the town's priest had spoken up, the sheriff would have wanted Wayne and his team to pack up and leave with some of the prisoners.

The staff in the town responsible for collecting the bodies were also a little reluctant, as if they felt that the detective agency was trying to work them to death.

After hearing that the two carriages could be given to them, their attitude became friendly again.

This town is relatively wealthy, having discovered mineral deposits and some related rough processing industries. After working in the mines or small workshops, the townspeople go to the town to spend money, which is a relatively positive type of "internal circulation".

By the way, this town also has a relatively era-appropriate small operation. Although there is no station here, some freight steam trains will regularly "stop" here for a period of time—it is said that several small landlords signed an agreement when selling land to the steam train company.

The bounty can still only be collected with a check. The extra 20% has to wait until they take the proof back to Mr. Russell to settle.

The remaining supplies were sold relatively smoothly. Injured horses were sold together with good horses, and some guns that had been blown up were also pieced together by the detectives. After buying out the ammunition reserves in the town's shops, there was still about 820 US dollars left.

So the total income fixed this time is 2140 US dollars.

Still calculated according to the 30% and then 37% split method, a formal detective's "head" is about 141 US dollars and 70 cents, and 0.8 head is 113 US dollars and 36 cents.

The cash that the detectives received last time hadn't been spent yet, and at this time they expressed that they hoped to receive it after returning to the detective agency's "headquarters".

So Wayne and the others were happy to save trouble.

However, the income of the "peripheral members" is not easy to calculate.

Wayne, used to being a spendthrift, simply took out the 149 US dollars and 80 cents that he should have received as funding, first letting the four peripheral members get a portion of the cash, about 37 US dollars per person. When he figured out how to distribute it later, Wayne would decide whether to deduct it from other places.

If there are suitable ones, they will be converted into "probationary detectives", otherwise they can only be regarded as "guest appearances" or "part-time jobs".

Although the boss only receiving 1 US dollar salary is also an operation, Wayne can't always be taking money out of his own pocket. At least Wayne has to be willing.

The peripheral members that Doug picked were pretty good, proactive, and knew how to express gratitude.

Especially after really seeing the detective agency's distribution method.

……

"Actually, I'm considering whether we should set a rough standard for detectives in the future. For example, a formal detective must be an Extraordinary with certain abilities, or an ordinary person with certain professional skills. Only those who can stand alone or create benefits can be considered senior detectives or even partners?"

In the tavern, Wayne, Inessa, and Lina occupied a small table in the corner, chatting aimlessly to pass the time.

This is not a town with frequent external exchanges, and it is not far from Clarisburg. The bartender's intelligence value is not great, so they mainly come here for recreation.

There are not many taverns to choose from in this town, and the other detectives who came out for a drink are basically here. Several tables next to them are vaguely forming a circle, neither too far nor too close, with a bit of a feeling of preventing others from causing trouble.

The townspeople probably know that the detective agency has eliminated the "Garry's Adventure" gang, and one or two of them came over to express their admiration, but overall they were indifferent, not as crazy as the Chicago newspapers before.

Inessa and Lina didn't have any opinions on the classification standards for detectives. Lina was more interested in the part about dividing the money, while Inessa didn't seem to care much about money, as long as it was generally acceptable.

So it turned into Wayne making the decision himself, and he could just announce it when the time came.

So the topic changed from work to life, and they also chatted about Emma's education along the way.

Lina originally had a dream of buying a manor and becoming a rich woman, but after she became familiar with Mrs. Ben Harmon recently, she felt that managing the manor and mingling in the rich woman's circle were too troublesome, with fashion, jewelry, dances, banquets, and having to consider various interpersonal relationships.

So her dream has evolved into buying a hotel and becoming a boss, and then entrusting it to a professional manager to manage. She herself would arrange a suite in the hotel to live in for a long time, with people cleaning the room and not having to socialize all day, and she could watch all kinds of travelers when she had nothing to do.

As for Inessa's dream……

Well, if the church lifted the restraints on her, Wayne felt that Inessa might find a small town to settle down in. If any evil Extraordinary emerged somewhere, she would probably be willing to help clean them up even without being paid.

After finishing a glass of beer, the three of them "checked in" at the local tavern and went back to prepare to see if the little loli was doing homework or tearing down the house tonight.

At this time, the tavern's double-swing butterfly doors were pushed open, and then a group of people walked in.

It was that Chris Mannix again, and the combination of Sheriff Daggett from the neighboring town.

No, how can we meet you everywhere?

Why don't you confess yourselves, are you secretly following our detective agency?

Chris glanced around the tavern after entering, and actually walked to Wayne and the others. "I heard from the hotel owner that you might have gone to the tavern, so I came here specifically to find you."

You've even learned to answer first.

Wayne moved to Inessa and Lina's side, giving Chris and Mr. Daggett space.

Chris chose to get straight to the point this time:

"I heard that you have eliminated 'Garry's Adventure' and killed or arrested William Kidd and several deputies. Then your next target should be the 'Skinny Gang'?"

Wayne nodded, "What? Are you planning to cooperate with us again?"

"No," unexpectedly, Chris's statement changed. "Since you can almost wipe out 'Garry's Adventure', which has more people, then I believe your team's strength is enough to eliminate the 'Skinny Gang' alone."

"So……"

"So if your next target is the 'Skinny Gang', then Mr. Daggett and I are willing to help for free."

Chris first threw out the free declaration, and then explained:

"Several members of our team have a personal feud with the Skinny Gang, but our team's strength is not enough to deal with them. Therefore, if you are going to attack them, my team is willing to assist without participating in the distribution of spoils, only hoping to participate in their destruction."

"As for Mr. Daggett, the Skinny Gang has committed crimes in their town. Due to territorial reasons, Mr. Daggett cannot ask the townspeople to assist in the pursuit across borders, but he also hopes to personally avenge the innocent."

Both groups are willing to help for free, are those guys so hated?