IVA - Exacting a Price
"If'n ah may beg yer indulgence kind sir." Kansas Kate replied, thrusting her right hip forward and presenting her Toothpick, which she drew presently. "Yer familiar with th' likes of this right?"
"Ya see Mr. Dolan..." She took a step back and took the long knife in a reverse grip position, then demonstrated each technique. "Ya come in like this, ya slide in right there twixt th' ribs. Plumb likely ta kill a man. Now yer crew is mighty keen at this, as good as anybody. On that part we see eye ta eye."
She reset her stance.
"But what good is it ta kill a feller if'n he owes you fifty dollars? Oh now don't start with me ah know ya gotta make a few examples, cost of doin' bus'ness. But ya can't make examples of every'un or there's no one left ta pay up. What ya do is, ya take this here..." She lifted the large blade again, and then tapped a spot on her neck with her finger using the other hand. "...an' ya just barely touch 'em right here. Looks like he's gonna die. An' if ya shoved it all th' way through, he would, but even if ya just cut 'em a little bit, he won't. But it'll put th' fear in him. Then you tell 'em he owes ya seventy five dollars. An' he thanks ya fer it. He thanks the Lord almighty for you putting that blade to his neck, do ya understand, Mr. Dolan?"
She got excited. Animated, fired up.
"The next week, he's only got twenty dollars. Now he owes you a hundred. This keeps going, soon he owes you three hundred, and he's paid a hundred and twenty five, and all you wanted was fifty. Da ya understand, Mr. Dolan?"
She couldn't help but let out a little whoop as she cleaned her nails with the long knife and spoke softly.
"Them boys 'n girls of yers last night did an unnatural thing, an impressive one, one what should've ended yer fight here in Lincoln County. But ah been pokin' around Mr. Dolan. Ya got ya a damn Ranger in town. A Chiney-man at that. He done whooped the ass of yer little toy single handed last night. Ah done saw it. T'were pitiful. Hell, ah didn't even know what the blue hell yer crew was doin', an' they done started a shootin' at some walkers by. Won't do Mr. Dolan, they gots to fear, not hate. Ain't th' same thing. That whole thing was a sorry joke, all them resources an' nothin' not a damn thing fer it.
"Now, we all got our vocations in this world, our divine callings. Some are doctors, some raise cattle, the elite of course are men of enterprise such as yerself, naturally. Now me? Well now, I'm what ya call an acquisitions specialist. Do ya want this county Mr. Dolan?"
Before he could answer, Kate was like lightning. She casually threw the Toothpick, not hard, just a lazy lob so it landed point first in his desk, and from nowhere her Schofield came up, pointed at the man.
"Because Bloody Kansas Kate is how ya get it." She pulled back, calmly re-holstering her revolver and retrieving her edged weapon. "We can help each other. Ah need th' publicity, ya need deniability. If'n ya wants ta keep th' place, yer gonna have to look legit afterwards ain't ya. Ah am sure yer capable of doin' th' job yerself, but it ain't an option if ya wants to play this game. Ya might as well hire th' best. Question is, are you in?"