Chapter 39: Pretty Bonnie
The road out of the city felt much longer than the ride in had been. Every passing glance at the streets was a constant reminder of how oblivious its people were, every relaxed expression on every passing face turned her stomach, and the sight of the circus fading into the distance left her thinking far too much.
She barely said a word the whole way. While Evelyn, normally the chattiest of the group, kept the conversation going, Bonnie stayed distant despite everyone's efforts. Every so often Victoria would shoot her a brief glance, as though checking something, or Lady would look slightly uncomfortable whenever Bonnie answered Thieving Cat's banter with something clipped and short.
This was the end of one story in Steam City — an ending bitter enough to leave a sour taste on anyone's tongue. There was nothing left for her to do here. She had to keep moving forward.
'But Dustfall, huh… That's definitely the city with the train station and that incredible home-cooked food. It's been years since the last time I was there. Going back will be really nostalgic. Isn't that right… Mama?'
The memory of a frightened little girl standing in front of a train beside her mother, set against the criminal Bonnie Jones she'd become, was too jarring a contrast to ignore. The only thing the Bonnie of the past and the Bonnie of the present still had in common was fear.
'It'll be a good place to rest, at least.'
By the time the sun reached its highest point, the group had already ridden out of the city. The buildings shrank away on the horizon, where the cobblestone streets gave way to uneven stone. The grim mysteries left behind dissolved into the steam and the gleaming metal rooftops, burying the past beneath copper and electricity.
There was nothing left for her to do in that place — not unless Bonnie had the power needed to stay, and even then, maybe she'd choose to leave anyway. Whether she'd ever return, she had no way of knowing this far ahead, because life is made up of pure probability, and an outlaw colliding with that life is what turns the improbable into something real.
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It was the telegraph office of Ironwood — a fairly small brick building with several cables running out of it, strung between poles that faded into the horizon along the city's busy streets. Out through the double doors came Sebastian, reading a note with a wide, delighted grin.
"This is everything we needed. This is real now," he said, lifting the note high in the air.
People nearby gave him strange looks, like he was some kind of oddity, so before the excitement could swallow him whole again, he hurried off toward the Stray Bullet. He needed to share what he'd found.
So he repeated his usual morning routine before heading in to work. He walked with energy through the streets and wooden sidewalks. He greeted the lovely young women strolling through town and showed proper respect to the elderly folks resting outside their homes. He told the kids to be careful crossing the street and bought the morning paper from one of the street vendors.
Tucking the note into his pocket, Sebastian read through the day's headlines.
***
Red Johnny Still On the Run!
The infamous outlaw Red Johnny was spotted along the outskirts of the border, locked in a duel against another outlaw. Johnny showed no mercy, ending the life of the now-late Lonely Pit.
Witnesses report the duel was over in the blink of an eye.
***
"That guy's been causing trouble for years, but in my whole life I've never once heard of him actually attacking anyone or robbing a bank, like some of these other outlaws who get away with it," he said, folding up the paper. "After Bonnie Jones, maybe I should start covering Johnny's story too. Could be fun."
With that thought in mind, he made his way to the building where he worked. He pulled out the note from earlier and stepped inside. It didn't take long before he was sprinting up the stairs and kicking his boss's door open, shouting.
"Boss! Look what just came in from our informants in Steam City!"
The old man jolted with fright at Sebastian's sudden entrance. He clutched his chest in pain, taking a deep breath before glaring at the young journalist.
"You stupid kid! Are you trying to kill me?! Haven't I told you to knock first?!"
"Sorry, boss, but I've got huge news. After my trip to Drybone, when that old woman threatened me with her grandson's shotgun, I had one of our informants in the neighboring cities keep an eye out for anything on Bonnie Jones's whereabouts."
"Alright, and?" the old man said, leaning back in his chair.
"That's exactly where I'm going. I just got this telegram straight from Steam City. Bonnie Jones was seen at the local circus. She had a boy with her. According to the telegram and the witnesses, she seemed to be in serious trouble — like she'd snapped — because she pointed her revolver at people in the crowd. The same golden revolver that went missing from Caleb Graves's body!"
The old man set his elbows on the desk and looked at Sebastian with newfound seriousness.
"Keep going."
It seemed he liked the sound of where this was headed. Sebastian nodded eagerly.
"After that, a black cat showed up, along with a woman some people recognized as the outlaw Thieving Cat. And here's where it gets interesting. Back in Drybone, Bonnie Jones was spotted alongside that same outlaw, which means the two of them are traveling together now. And if I remember right, Thieving Cat belongs to a gang called the Sisters of the Horizon."
Sebastian set the telegram down on the desk so the old man could see the information for himself.
"Despite everything she's done in Steam City, plenty of people still recognize Bonnie Jones's looks above everything else. That gave me a great idea for the next headline. This could be our front page, if we don't find any bigger news on the more notorious outlaws first."
"And you're seriously planning to put all of that on the front page?"
"That's right. We don't have any photos of Bonnie from Steam City, but we can run her wanted poster. As for the headline, on my way over here I thought of something like 'Pretty Bonnie Shakes Up Steam City.' Though that's still just a working title."
The old man sighed.
"That sounds awful, kid. Have Valeria handle the headline. You're writing the body of the story."
"So that means you're…"
"Yes, yes. Get to work and get out of my office. You're irritating me."
Sebastian couldn't contain his excitement. Without sparing so much as a thought for his old boss's delicate heart, he ran off toward his desk, slamming the door behind him. In that old man's eyes, the boy was nothing short of a walking storm.
Being too passionate is never a bad thing on its own — but in journalism, it can turn into a real liability.
The day carried on as usual after Sebastian sat down and started typing like a man possessed at his desk in the corner of the building. And so, by the next morning, the newspaper's front page would carry the controversial Bonnie as its leading story.
There was, however, someone who didn't care much for the idea. That was Nicolás, who stood at the window of his office watching the city below with a dull, lifeless expression. On his desk sat a photograph of Eleanor and a young Bonnie, both smiling easily at the camera that had captured that moment from the past in black and white.
Just then, the door knocked twice.
"Come in," he said.
Patty walked into the office holding a few documents.
"Mr. Jones, I need you to authorize the temporary closure of Mine B. The constant cave-ins have cost us workers, which has cut our iron and copper output significantly."
With a sigh, Nicolás turned to face his secretary.
"If we have idiots dying because they don't know how to do their jobs, then fire them. Have the engineers handle the machinery and the maintenance — that's exactly what we pay them for."
"But that would cut into our output capacity. We don't have enough excavators at Mine B as it is."
"I'll handle that. Just do as I say."
The woman nodded and left the office in silence. On her way out, though, she glanced at the photograph of Eleanor and Bonnie. For once, her face twisted with irritation, before she disappeared down the hallway.
Nicolás, for his part, sat back down and looked at the photograph in silence.
"You can fail twice… Don't let there be a third time," he said, closing his eyes with a long, weary sigh.