835 replies to this topic

[Katia11]

It's just difficult to stay motivated, because I have so few readers. Considering the size of my audience, I'm not sure the time commitment is worth it.

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

I feel your pain, Mara. But this is so much fun to read. I am willing to wait for as long as you need. BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME.

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Kate really said it all right there! I may not get many readers for my fics, either, but I'm still writing them cuz I'm devoted to them, my fics AND my readers, even though, like you, it often takes a long time for me to come up with a new chapter or two. We have faith in ya, girl! I'm sure whatever you come up with next will be just as awesome and gnarly as before!!

[Mara=^.^=]

LOL, you guys are so much better than me. I don't write for the love of fanfiction...I write so people will shower me in praise

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

LOL, you guys are so much better than me. I don't write for the love of fanfiction...I write so people will shower me in praise

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

I never said anything of the kind.  

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Neither did I!!

[Mara=^.^=]

Not dead! ...Sent new chapter to Katie for beta-reading

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Yayayayayayayayay!!!!!!

[Mara=^.^=]

Sorry again for the UNBELIEVABLE delay, but you guys know what I've been dealing with. Anyway, enjoy the chapter...which I've mentally entitled "All Rich People Know Each Other".

 

**************************************************************************************

 

It was 3:45 in the afternoon by the time Eddie the Baby wandered into the lobby of the Menger Hotel. The waitstaff cast anxious glances at the adolescent criminal as he took a drag from his cigarette and stomped the dirt from his boots. Blix the butler, who had been standing motionless in the adjoining corridor, stepped out into the lobby to greet him.

 

“Right this way, sir,” he said, bowing into the cloud of smoke that surrounded the teenage outlaw.

 

Eddie flicked his still-lit cigarette into a potted plant. “You can ease up on the formalities, old timer. I’m not the type to stand on ceremony. Now let’s get this done 'n finished, before you start to decompose.”

 

Blix escorted Eddie to the upstairs boardroom where his employer was waiting. The office they entered was upscale, with oak paneled walls and a table so polished that it reflected the chairs encircling it. Despite the high class furnishings, hostility lingered in the air, as though years of clandestine business dealings had stripped the space of all cheer. It was the sort of room that turned laughter into sneers, and smiles into threats.

 

“You!” shouted Eustace, slapping the tabletop as he sprung up. “Does the concept of punctuality mean nothing to you? I expected you here forty-five minutes ago!”

 

Eddie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He'd been concentrating on his cards when Blix came to see him at the Santa Rosa Parlor, so he'd failed to make the connection between the name ‘Eustace Strych’ and the man awaiting him at the Menger. Now that they were face-to-bucktoothed-face, however, their past connection came spiraling up from his memory banks.

 

“Well I'll be a son of a bitch,” swore the teenager, flopping down on the nearest chair. “Look who it is – Useless Strych, the ol' namby-pamby rail brat himself. Christ, I ain't seen hide nor hair of you since...well, since we both lived in Beantown, back when your father and my uncle Hugh were weekend Flurp drinkin' buddies. God, you look awful.”

 

Eddie the Baby leaned back in his seat, shirt unbuttoned and legs spread wide, and Eustace regarded him with an expression of disgust.

 

“I look awful?” repeated Eustace. “You’re the one lolling about like a back-alley trollop. Lace up that smock you call a shirt and close your legs before your appalling manners sour my stomach. Honestly. If it weren't for that wretched cousin of yours, I'd swear you were the worst thing to have ever crawled out from underneath the Neutron family rock.”

 

“Pfft. Go piss up a rope, you pampered dandy. I won’t listen to a lecture on manners from the likes of you. Always bitching and moaning and carrying on whenever things don’t go your way… Say, do you still kick the servants when you're throwing a hissy fit? Or is impotent rage considered passé nowadays?”

 

Eustace gripped the edge of the table until his knuckles turned white, but before he could launch into a retaliatory tirade, Eddie raised a hand to stop him.

 

“All right, all right, don't get your silk knickers in a knot, Useless. Forget I said anything. Let's just get to the point, shall we? Time's a-wastin', and I wanna know why I forfeited a perfectly good afternoon of carousin' and gambling just so I could sit here and stare at your ugly mug. Your flunky said you had something to discuss with me, so get to it.”

 

“Hmph,” snorted Eustace. “Impertinent, pre-pubescent degenerate. Hold your tongue, and we can be done with it. Blix, bring the paper!”

 

The butler stepped forward, newspaper clipping in hand, and placed it on the table in front of his employer.

 

“What I am about to tell you,” began Eustace, “involves family secrets, corporate warfare, and a years-long land dispute. I trust that, as a former member of genteel society, confidentiality still means something to you.”

 

The teenager merely raised an eyebrow, and Eustace slid the paper toward him. Eddie examined it briefly before reading the headline aloud.

 

“North-Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads Announce Talks for Merger.” He tossed the scrap of paper back at Eustace. “Is this supposed to mean something to me?”

 

“That depends. You were still just a child when we both lived in Boston…how much do you remember about the Strych family business?”

 

“You want a retrospective or something? How’s this: a few decades back, your father the business genius founded the South-Central Pacific Railroad and, through sheer force of will, turned it into one of the biggest moneymaking enterprises in the United States. You, meanwhile, were born with a silver spoon so far up your ass that you never learned to walk straight. That about cover it?”

 

There was a short pause as Eustace reined in his anger. “You are partially correct,” he breathed, folding his hands on the tabletop. “My father is indeed the founder of the South-Central Pacific Railroad. And yes, for a time it was one of the most profitable enterprises in the country…but that’s no longer the case.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Times have changed, Eddie. Westward expansion undermined our monopoly on the rails; we still hold sway from Boston to St. Louis, but our profits are dwindling, and we struggle to get new contracts. Our competitors, meanwhile, are pushing westward at breakneck speed. At this point, we have two options: push westward ahead of them, or accept defeat and doom ourselves to a future of ever-diminishing returns.”

 

Eddie settled back in the chair, listening.

 

“What we need is a project on a grand scale – something that will put us back on top, permanently.” Eustace turned the newspaper clipping around and tapped it twice. “That’s where the Union Pacific Company comes in. You’ve heard of them, I imagine? They got their start on the southern coast of California, and they’ve been building eastward toward Texas…ultimately, their goal is to construct the world’s first transcontinental railroad.”

 

“…So?”

 

“So it’s simple: if South-Central is to survive, we need to be part of that transcontinental railroad. Trouble is, we aren’t the only company that has its sights set on a merger with Union Pacific. Our biggest competitor, North-Central Pacific, has been blocking our progress every step of the way. Any time my company tries to purchase a piece of real estate, they swoop in with a better offer, just to keep it out of our hands. We’ve had to zigzag westward over subpar terrain, and it’s costing us a fortune.”

 

“My-oh-my, Useless, is that a note of distress I detect in your voice? What’s the matter? Worried you’ll have to sell one of your solid gold piss-pots to pay your butler’s salary?”

 

“This is no laughing matter, Eddie! Our primary competitor is buying land out from under us, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them. Union Pacific will join up with whichever line reaches them first, and thanks to North-Central’s underhanded schemes, they’re in the better position.” He tapped the newspaper clipping again. “Just yesterday, news of a potential merger between the two companies appeared in the San Antonio Express…six months ahead of my estimates. As you can imagine, I nearly had a heart attack. Fortunately, it’s not too late for us to reach the Union Pacific line first, provided we follow the correct route. Here, take a look...”

 

Eustace snapped his fingers, and Blix fished a map out of his coat and laid it down. Eustace smoothed out the creases, and Eddie leaned in to get a closer look. A dotted purple line extended across the map from California to the Texas border; on the other side, a dotted blue line meandered across the eastern United States and ended its run in Texas. Between the two sets of lines was a gap, and in that gap someone had drawn an X in red ink. Eddie squinted at the cursive lettering beneath the X. It read Retro Valley.

 

“The purple line represents Union Pacific,” explained Eustace, “and the blue line represents South-Central. As you can see, we’re not terribly far from our goal, but we’re also running out of time. If we want to make it to Union Pacific before North-Central does, we’re going to need a direct route through west Texas – one with smooth terrain and access to fresh water. Unfortunately, North-Central has been aware of this for some time, and they’ve bought up all the suitable parcels of land in the area…with one exception. Retro Valley.”

 

“Right. I get it. The only way you beat out North-Central is if you get your greedy little mitts on that red X. So what’s the problem?”

 

“The problem, Eddie, is that Retro Valley already belongs to someone else, and he is not interested in selling. I’ve tried all the usual tactics – bribery, lies, threats – nothing’s worked. And yet, the fact remains: I need that valley. Which is why, last week, I sent Blix to speak with you about locating a suitable gun-for-hire.”

 

“Wait just a cotton pickin’ minute…you sent an assassin after this clown, just because he refused to sell you his acreage? Christ Almighty, Useless, you’ve got more gumption than I gave you credit for.”

 

Eustace folded the map and handed it back to Blix. “Originally, the plan was simple: get rid of the owner, wait for his holdings to pass onto his next of kin, and then purchase the land from them.”

 

“What makes you think his kinfolk would –”

 

“– Would sell me the land? Let’s just say I’m…well acquainted with the owner's family. Even stricken with the grief of their son’s passing, I’m certain his parents would be willing to part with the land for the right price. They're the type of people who recognize a good business opportunity when they see one.” Eustace let out a long, tired sigh. “Unfortunately, this plan is no longer tenable. For it to work, I would need time to go through the proper legal channels. When I dispatched that gun-for-hire, I’d counted on having at least six months to acquire the land and begin construction. But with yesterday’s merger announcement, I no longer have that time. Going through legal channels isn’t an option anymore, which is why I’ve called on you. ……….Eddie, I want you to help me take Retro Valley by force.”

 

The boy nearly did a spit-take. “I’m sorry…what?”

 

“You’ve made quite a name for yourself here in San Antonio, Eddie. You command respect in the city's criminal sector, yet you hail from my social circle, which makes you an ideal intermediary between myself and the Texas underworld. I need you to use your influence to muster up a posse of thugs and ruffians to help me capture the valley. I need men who won’t ask questions and who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. They will, of course, be handsomely rewarded for their efforts: luxury transportation, a cash advance, plus looting and pillaging rights within the settlement.”

 

“You want me to help you shoot up a town?”

 

“Don’t be so melodramatic; the slaughter won’t be indiscriminate. Only those individuals who resist the takeover need die. We’ll press-gang the rest into working construction until I can get a fresh supply of workers out there. After that, we’ll intimidate or bribe the survivors into silence.”

 

“You’re crazy, Strych. You can’t just set a gang of killers loose on a town and expect them to show restraint at the wave of a hand. Once they get goin’, they’ll ransack the place and kill and defile at random. You can’t go cherry-pickin’ victims and expect a bunch of cut-throats to heed your recommendations.”

 

“Who said anything about cherry-picking? I just – ugh, look: I don’t enjoy getting my hands dirty like this, all right? North-Central has left me with no other choice. If high casualty figures are the cost of securing my company’s future, then that’s a burden I am going to have to bear.”

 

The outlaw shook his head. “I always knew you were a jackass, Eustace, but I never thought you were angling for the bughouse 'til just now. What in blue blazes has gotten into you? You expect me to orchestrate some half-baked country raid – and for what, money? I already got all the money I need, you gilded prick. Why would I ever, ever involve myself in a shitshow like this?”

 

The rail baron smiled. “Because, my dear Eddie, there’s one important piece of information I haven’t shared with you yet: the identity of my adversary. The man who owns Retro Valley, the man who needs to die? It’s your cousin Jimmy.”

 

There was a moment of silence, then Eddie slumped back in the chair and crossed his arms. “So what?” he mumbled. “Why should I care?”

 

“Why should you care? Have you taken leave of your senses? Or have you just chosen to forget what Jimmy did to you four years ago? He exposed your plot to kill your aunt Amanda and gain her stake in the Neutron family fortune, remember? Because of him, you lost everything – your inheritance, your reputation, your privileged position in society. He’s the reason you were disowned and cast out. Do you really intend to let him get away with that?”

 

Eddie played with a loose string on his shirt, and Eustace pressed him further. “Now’s your chance to redress your grievances. I gave that gun-for-hire a fortnight to complete her task, so chances are Jimmy is still alive. Don’t you want to be present at his execution? If anyone deserves to watch him die, it’s you. Hell, you can even pull the trigger yourself if you want to. And why stop there? Take his house, his land, his tenants; take his woman if he has one. Once I’ve secured the valley and handled the cover-up, the town is yours to do with as you please. All I ask in return is that you help me accomplish this task.”

 

There was a pause. “And if your cover-up fails? If we’re implicated in a crime of this magnitude…what then?”

 

"Please. The world doesn't care what happens to the denizens of some catchpenny backwater town. And besides, even if I am implicated, it won't matter. You and I both know how the justice system works here in America – if you grease the right palms, you can get away with almost anything. Once my company merges with Union Pacific, I'll be untouchable. No court in this country would dare come after me. And as for you, you already have a bounty on your head, so what the difference? Isn't the payoff worth the risk?

 

Eddie scratched his bald pate, considering.

 

“You do realize,” prompted Eustace, “that the longer we sit here deliberating, the more likely it is that Tex will have already eliminated Jimmy by the time we arrive. If you want to take your revenge on a living man rather than a dead one, you need to make up your mind now. Can I count on your participation or not?”

 

The teenager sighed. “All right, I’m in. But I warn you, you are playin’ fast and loose with fate. There are a hundred ways that this operation could turn ugly, and if that happens, I ain’t comin’ to save your sorry hide. I watch my back, not yours, you got that? And I pursue my agenda first.”

 

“Yes, yes, fine. I’ll have Blix begin preparations for departure. Report back to me as soon as you’ve assembled a suitable fighting force…and remember, we’re on a deadline here. The sooner, the better.”

 

 

************************************************************************************************

 

So proud of myself for working in so many references to "Billion Dollar Boy" and "Clash of the Cousins"

 

 

HISTORICAL SHIT AND BULLSHIT SHIT
 

- "Beantown" (a nickname for Boston that is still used today) has its roots in the 1700s; according to Boston-Online.com, back in colonial days, a favorite Boston food was beans baked in sugary molasses for several hours. Boston was part of the "triangular trade" in which slaves in the Caribbean grew sugar cane to be shipped to Boston, in order to be made into rum and in turn sent to West Africa for the acquisition of more slaves. Sailors and traders who were familiar with Boston's love of beans smothered in evil slave-sugar called the city "Beantown", a moniker that was considered rude by some of the locals.

- Eustace mentions that South-Central's rail monopoly extends only as far west as St. Louis, Missouri. Back in the day (and by "the day", I mean the 1800s), more railroads met at St. Louis than any other city in the United States. Connections between western and eastern lines at this locale would have been very profitable.

- As for the rest of the railroad related stuff in this chapter...NO idea if any of it is accurate, haha. I stole parts of it from the classic movie Once Upon a Time in the West, so if it's wrong you can blame those writers and not me
 

Vocab:
* Bughouse - insane asylum

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

NEXT PART -> Potshots in the Gully

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Alright!! Sweet update, Mara!! Told ya I wouldn't give up on this thing!!

Holy Heisenberg!!! So THAT'S why Eustace wants Jimmy killed, cuz of valuable railroad land right where Retro Valley is sitting and he owns it! I'm still pulling for Jimmy to win this in the end(and possibly score Tex(Cindy) as a girlfriend), though, so don't let me down, girl! I'm highly looking forward to the next update, no matter HOW far off it is from now!!

[Katia11]

(HUGS YOU) me likey! 

[Mara=^.^=]

 I'm still pulling for Jimmy to win this in the end(and possibly score Tex(Cindy) as a girlfriend), though, so don't let me down, girl!

 

I mean, this IS a romance. I don't know how well the concept of "girlfriend" would translate to the Old West though, haha

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[TheKingInTheNorth]

This is a really good story. I would still read it even if it had nothing to do with Jimmy Neutron. (Of course, the JN references elevate its awesomeness )

[Mara=^.^=]

Lol thanks

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[ssam]

The sole reason I came to this site originally. Thank you ma'am, I like the Eddie and Eustance collab. Really good story going here.

[Mara=^.^=]

Highly relevant

 

 

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[underwater]

Lol. Llamas galore

Corinne
P.S. write moooore

[Katia11]

*NUDGES MARA*

[Mara=^.^=]

-cries in a corner-

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Mara-chan, I'll ALWAYS be a faithful reader no matter HOW long this takes you! I survived the long wait for TOSOT's ending, and I'll make it through this one, too! I should know; I've been working on my own fic, Emerging Compassions, ever since 2010, and it's STILL far from complete, even with 44 chapters now!! So I totally know how you feel there! No matter how long this one takes you, I'll still be willing to read it; rest assurred in that! You have my word on that, girl!! You ever need to talk, I'm always available! Count on it!!!

[SweeneyxxTodd]

**finally gets around to reading**

 

**lurks for updates**

 

**believes in you**