Stephen, who had already left, had no idea what James was thinking. His mind was still occupied with how to rescue Sean.

  He wanted to avoid any involvement with the Pinkertons if possible.

  The Pinkertons were no joke. This organization was a genuine, bone-gnawing devil.

  To understand the Pinkertons' power, just one point is enough.

  They were, at that time, the only organization in the United States with interstate law enforcement authority!

  Yes, the only entity in the U.S. at that time able to enforce laws across state lines wasn't the police, nor any federal organization, but a so-called private detective agency.

  Before the emergence of national-level law enforcement agencies like the CIA and FBI, the Pinkertons were the uncrowned kings of the era.

  Even during the Civil War, Lincoln's security was entrusted to the Pinkerton detectives.

  It's worth noting that when Lincoln was assassinated, the security detail wasn't from the Pinkerton Detective Agency, but the U.S. Army.

  That's kind of hilarious.

  So, the Pinkertons, with such a deep background, were riding high.

  The U.S. Congress even directly allocated funds to the Pinkertons, outsourcing all rights to arrest and interrogate individuals involved in organized and interstate crime!!

  At their peak, the Pinkertons had over two thousand detectives and more than thirty thousand reservists, outnumbering the U.S. Army at the time!

  Armed with interstate law enforcement power, they hunted down criminals and willingly served as bodyguards, lackeys, and even executioners for the wealthy.

  Because they didn't just target criminals.

  As the white gloves of the rich, they used espionage, bribery, and assassination to infiltrate workers' organizations.

  They sabotaged workers' activities, assassinated labor leaders, and even opened fire on protesting workers.

  They fought criminals for the bounty, not for any sense of justice.

  If it made money, they would do anything.

  Even in the 21st century of his previous life, the Pinkertons were still active on the world stage.

  (Of course, the game company directly threw out a bunch of historical materials, saying that their image didn't need to be blackened at all.)

  (Writing so much here is also to let everyone know that the Pinkertons who are hunting down the Van der Linde gang are not some random dogs; they are a genuine behemoth.)

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  (Definitely not for inflating the word count!!)

  Stephen headed straight for the town's port.

  From what he saw on the cliff earlier, the camp suspected of holding Sean was near the port.

  Blackwater's port was bustling, the largest deep-water dock in the area.

  Goods from several nearby states passed through here if they traveled by water.

  This port was the reason that Blackwater became one of the most prosperous towns in the West.

  There were many police officers at the port, practically one every three steps and a guard every five.

  Arthur had told him that Dutch and the gang had robbed a newly arrived bullion ship at the port.

  It seemed that the area had become a focal point for the local police.

  Stephen stood at the port for a while before a small team of officers approached him.

  "Sir, are you here to catch a boat?"

  The leading officer looked at the weapons on Stephen's horse with a hint of suspicion.

  Stephen's heavily armed appearance naturally aroused suspicion.

  "Oh, officer, I'm looking for the Sheriff's office."

  Stephen said with a smile, "I'm a bounty hunter from Strawberry, here to see if I can find some work."

  "Bounty hunter?"

  The officer gave Stephen a dubious look. "Do you have anything to prove your identity?"

  "Yes, of course,"

  Stephen said quickly, "I have a travel permit signed by Sheriff Sam from Strawberry, in my left coat pocket."

  Under the watchful eyes of the officers, Stephen carefully took out the permit and handed it over.

  The officer examined it for a long time, and relaxed once he confirmed everything was in order.

  "Patrols are tight at the port right now, so don't be loitering around."

  He said sternly, "The Sheriff's office doesn't have any requests anyway, so you should move on."

  He waved dismissively, as if trying to shoo him away.

  "Alright, in that case, I'll grab a drink at the bar and leave tomorrow."

  Stephen pointed to the setting sun. "It's not safe to travel at night."

  "Don't let me catch you doing anything shady."

  The officer gave him an unfriendly warning, then gave Stephen a long look before turning to leave with his men.

  Watching the officers leave, Stephen couldn't help but sigh, things didn't look good.

  It seemed that posing as a bounty hunter looking for work wasn't going to work.

  Stephen could only pull on the reins and slowly walk north along the port's edge.

  Ships were constantly docking and unloading or loading cargo in the nearby channel, hardly stopping for a moment.

  There were no large loading machines yet in this era, so the port relied on manual labor.

  Many workers in coarse clothing served as laborers on the docks, mostly Black and Mexican people.

  Although these Black people had nominally escaped slavery and become free men, they had not been able to live a good life due to discrimination and poverty.

  This was evident in the fact that there were so many Black people at Blackwater's port, but none to be seen in the town.

  They were still doing the same work as before, even more burdensome.

  But due to capitalist exploitation, the wages they received weren't even enough to feed themselves.

  The north side of the town was the wealthy district, which seemed even more prosperous than the town itself.

  Everywhere were beautiful gardens and towering villas, Stephen even saw a castle-like building, marveling at how the rich could enjoy themselves at any time.

  This area was even more heavily guarded than the town, with guards at the doors of almost every house.

  Stephen was chased away by several guards after wandering around the area for a while.

  The method was simple and brutal, with those people directly raising the rifles in their hands and telling him to get lost.

  Stephen had to raise his hands to show that he was just passing through and posed no threat.

  Perhaps Stephen's current complexion and well-dressed clothes prevented the guards from taking any extreme actions.

  They just waved impatiently, signaling Stephen to leave quickly.

  After passing the wealthy circle, he finally saw the camp he had seen on the cliff earlier.

  Several bounty hunters in black coats were guarding the entrance of the camp, vigilantly watching everyone who passed by.