That Welen Ike is quite the character.
Despite his flashy getup and grand pronouncements, he's really just a middleman.
What they do isn't much different from bounty hunters, except they usually don't do the dirty work themselves. They delegate.
You see, the rich and powerful often need someone to handle their unsavory tasks.
Like digging up dirt on a rival or silencing a troublesome union boss.
It's all messy business, but the pay is usually quite generous.
The problem is, these things need to be kept hush-hush.
The rich folks can't use their own people, and they can't just go hiring bounty hunters off the street.
That's where guys like Welen Ike come in.
They use their connections to take on jobs from the wealthy, then subcontract them out to bounty hunters like Stephen.
They just skim off the top.
Stephen pocketed the business card. Might be useful someday.
Not that he planned on taking any of his jobs. Too dirty, and he wasn't exactly hurting for cash.
But it never hurts to have connections.
After all, middlemen like Welen Ike had a reputation to uphold.
One slip-up, and the rich clients would drop him like a bad habit.
Some might even choose to eliminate the middleman altogether to keep things quiet.
Dead men tell no tales, right?
The next morning, Stephen arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Seamus's stable.
He walked in to find Seamus beating on his staff with a stick.
"Well now, seems I've come at a bad time." Stephen said with a cigar in his mouth.
"Of course not, my friend, you've come just on time."
Seamus smiled, "Your new horse is ready for you, he's in the back."
"And I imagine you've tallied up the spoils of war, have you?"
Nearly twenty horses, plus a whole lot of weaponry. That adds up.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
"Of course, of course. I've got it all figured out, but..."
Seamus hesitated, noticing Stephen's glare. "I wasn't trying to weasel out of this, but there is just so much of this and I can't sell it all quickly, and I don't have so much cash on me."
Seamus rubbed his hands together, wearing a look of shame. "So I wanted to know if you could give me a couple days, I will get it sold and pay you afterwards."
"Seamus…"
Stephen reached out and put a firm hand on Seamus's shoulder, "My patience isn't my greatest virtue."
The cold tone made Seamus twitch. "You can trust me, I would never betray you."
He pulled out a piece of paper covered in numbers. "I have here a breakdown of everything on offer, it has every price you are looking for."
Stephen suspiciously accepted the list. Weapons, ammo, horses – each item carefully priced.
By Stephen's reckoning, the prices were a bit lower than a legitimate storefront, but fair for the black market.
"I'll be able to give you a chunk of money now and the rest of the cash within a month!"
Seamus continued, "You have my word as an honest salesman."
Before he could finish Stephen stopped him, "I already know you are a straight up man, so were is my cash?"
"Oh of course, right here."
Seamus grabbed the thick stack of notes behind him and produced half the cash. "There is the amount to represent half the value of everything."
"I also used the finest leather I could get my hands on to create the finest saddle and accessories you will see anywhere else!"
Stephen took the money, counting it swiftly, and placed it into his bag.
"Alright then, keep your promise, I'll see you in a month."
Seamus hastily agreed and said, "Right! come and take a look at your horse, I have never seen a beast so fearsome!"
Stephen nodded, and a relaxed Seamus led Stephen out to the back.
Opening the doors up Stephen noticed in the yard a dark Turkoman standing peacefully.
It has seemed to gain some size and power since it's previous visitation.
"I have gone and re-fashioned his hair as well as a full wash, he is ready to gallop through the Heartlands as soon as you give the go ahead!!"
Seamus was excitedly jumping around trying to tell Stephen of how impressive it was and, "I truly believe that you could not have acquired a better ally and friend."
"Great."
Stephen applauded Seamus on the work he had done and ventured forward to greet the animal.
The creature was colossal to the point that even standing close, Stephen needed to stretch his neck just to see the full shape of its head.
Stephen affectionately scratched the animal along the neck with a brush.
By all means before hopping on the back you needed to get familiarized, and a bad relationship could spell disaster for your back!
Stephen had moved onto washing the steed which earned him squinted eyes, a satisfying expression for the hardwork he was doing.
The noise emitted from the Turkoman almost felt like a greeting, and it turned around to slobber across Stephens face with love and friendship.
It was at this point it was clear the horse now felt a mutual acceptance.
The saddle was of great quality, and upon inspection it had felt to Stephen that Seamus had used good quality materials in the creation of it.
With the saddle also came accessories and small saddlebags, a pleasant surprise that was followed up with it been filled with the horses favorite snacks, vegetables and fruit.
Stephen offered a few carrots which were slobbered away without hesitation.
With snacks consumed, a generous portion of water, Stephen was about ready to make the leap to try his first ride.
Once prepped Stephen carefully with a foot forward flung his leg over the saddle.
The stallion shuffled a little and tossed the head around unsure of its position and the change it faced.
It marched backwards and forwards on the spot leaving hooves dug deeply into the surface of the farm.
Stephen stayed neutral not giving instruction allowing it to be at free will in his decision making.
Horses feel energy and it was only essential for this to be peaceful rather than filled with stress.
He continued to pat the neck and reassure it verbally as time passed by.
Moments later he carefully instructed with the reins out towards the front in a calm walk.
