The Last Resort

The Work That No One Will Touch

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The Texas Rangers have limits.

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The U.S. Marshals answer to judges.

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The Pinkertons follow a ledger, a contract, a price.

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Even the Rurales—ruthless as they are—only go as far as their orders take them.

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But some problems have no orders. No jurisdiction. No law to call upon.

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Some problems belong to Shadows.

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There are lawmen in the West who take matters into their own hands, men who work both sides of the law, delivering justice in a way the courts never could. Some wear a badge. Some threw theirs away long ago.

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Shadows are not lawmen. But some were, once.

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Now, they answer only to El Lobo.

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Why Shadows Take a Mission

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Shadows are not mercenaries.

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They do not take every case. They are not bounty hunters.

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They choose.

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A mission is only taken if El Lobo decides it is worthy. If it is something that should not be.

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They take no cases of greed. No family feuds. No land disputes.

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The only currency Shadows trade in is necessity.

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If they do not take the mission, then it will never be solved.

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If they do not act, no one will.

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That is the line.

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That is the rule.

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Payment and the Price of Help

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Dante Cortez never asks for payment.

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He does not take money, does not deal in gold, does not weigh his decisions against silver or coin.

But Shadows?

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His men and women do.

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They live by the payment that desperate men bring to Sombrajo.

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Because Sombrajo itself takes payment.

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A town cannot survive on silence alone. If a man comes with an offering in his hands, if he is willing to pay the price for his last chance, then Sombrajo will accept it.

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It is not charity.

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It is not justice.

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It is simply the way of things.

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The Whispers That Lead to Them

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A dying man once paid ten gold eagles to have a message carried to Sombrajo.

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He only needed one word delivered.

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The messenger arrived at the cantina, found Vargas behind the bar, and spoke the name.

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Vargas listened. Poured a drink. Then nodded once.

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The messenger asked, "Will they take the job?"

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Vargas didn’t look up.

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"They already have."

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