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A short time later a very nervous Charles rode onto the cart that had been loaned from Mr. Adams. He knew how to control the horses but it had been some time since he had last done such a thing and he was struggling to remember how to perform the task correctly. He had tried to talk Maxine out of making him do it but she had been stern with her words and he had been forced to go along with it.

It was now night but there was the light of the moon that helped guide him through the darkness but he was constantly looking around. His heart was racing and he was nervous, probably more nervous than he had ever been in his life.

In the cart lay something that was underneath a cloth, purposely so that it couldn't be seen by anyone else. It was still but the contents seemed metallic as well, likely gold which could bring a person fortune or even iron that could be easily traded. Either way that a person could look at it the haul would be valuable.

Charles was not alone as there was someone watching him. The sound of hooves along the ground had caught the attention of someone, a man who quickly climbed up a nearby tree. He made sure that the leaves obscured any view of him which made him invisible to whoever he was watching.

The man watched as Charles and the cart went by him and he began to mimic some animal sounds. The sounds were not random but a code that was being picked up by his colleagues that were a short distance away. They each quickly got into position and used the bushes to keep out of sight.

They planned for another heist which would likely be their last in the area before they moved onto somewhere different. They already felt like they had stayed longer than they should but they hoped by that time the next night that they would be far away from there. There was also hope that they would be richer by that point and not have to steal again for some time.

Oblivious to what was happening Charles continued to ride the cart. He suspected that there might be something wrong and he heard the bushes around him beginning to rustle. He stopped for a moment to look but no sooner did he do this he suddenly saw three men standing in front of the cart. They were a short distance away but for the time being he didn't notice that the fourth man who had watched him came up from behind the cart.

If Charles hadn't felt nervous before he certainly did now. He was doing everything he could to try and keep his composure but as he looked to the man directly ahead of him he recognised the man as William Bellamy. The drawing of him on the wanted poster was a little off but it looked enough like him to be recognised.

It wasn't so much William that was causing him to be nervous but the two men standing beside him. One was armed with a sword that looked to be fairly cheap but still enough to slash at someone. The other was holding a crossbow that was pointed directly toward Charles. If it was released it seemed like he would have little defence against it, death would be almost a certainty.

"Greetings friend," said William in what seemed to be a friendly tone. "Tonight, is your lucky night."

"In what way exactly?" replied Charles. He was still nervous but was doing everything he could to hide it. He had taken some deep breaths before he had spoken and this had helped calm his mind.

"You get to leave here with your life." He smiled at Charles as he could see that he didn't seem to have any chance of fighting back. "I'll give you two simple options, the first is that you give up whatever you've got in that cart there and you walk away without any harm coming to you."

"I can guess what the second option is. You don't need to tell me what it is." He gave a sigh as he knew what he had to do. "But I'm afraid I can't. My load here is too valuable to give up without a fight."

"Can't argue with that." He nodded to the man with the crossbow and an arrow was quickly fired at Charles. He didn't have a hope of getting out of the way in time and it struck him in the chest. The force was enough to send him off the cart and he fell to the ground below. There was a loud thud when he struck the ground and it was almost certain that he was dead. "No matter how valuable something is it isn't worth your life." He then looked over at the man who was standing behind the cart. "Gordon, check what's in there."

Gordon quickly moved toward the cart and he was eager to see what was inside. If it was something like jewellery or weapons they could easily sell it off. If it was food and hopefully some wine then they would be having a good night shortly. He began to move the cloth and his eyes widened by what he was seeing.

The other three highwaymen seemed to be happy with what had happened and they began to laugh and joke with one another until they heard Gordon give a loud cry of pain after a metallic sound. They watched as he fell to the ground and didn't move, they had no idea if he was dead or simply unconscious.

They had no idea what had just happened but suddenly they began to see a large figure rise out from the back of the cart and place their feet on the ground. As the figure stood up all the three men could see was the tallest person that they could imagine. From head to toe the figure was in thick armour and not a single ounce of flesh could be seen at all. It almost looked like a giant metal man with a large sword in his hand.

The highwaymen had no idea that what they were seeing was actually Maxine underneath all the armour. Her size and sudden appearance had caught them off guard and she began to walk toward them. The crossbowman quickly fired off another arrow at her but it simply bounced off her thick armour and didn't even leave a dent.

Maxine didn't waste any time as she saw him reloading. He was done within a few seconds and he pointed the crossbow at her but by then she was too close. One quick slash of her sword cut the crossbow completely in half. If he hadn't of moved his hand out of the way in the nick of time then it was likely that he would have lost his hand at the same time.

The distance between them was too small for the crossbowman to think of another strategy. Instead he felt a strong kick to his chest that sent him flying into the trunk of a nearby tree. A couple of his rips had been broken and he coughed up a small amount of blood. But he would ultimately survive the encounter.

Now there were only two highwaymen left which included William Bellamy himself. They were both shocked by what they had just seen and they thought that she was some kind of monster. They couldn't believe that someone of such size and strength actually existed, she also moved faster than what was expected for someone of her stature and she was using it to great effect.

The highwaymen still had numbers on their side and William did pull a small dagger that had been attached to his leg. He thought about fighting for a moment before he realised that it was hopeless. Instead he did what any man would do in this kind of situation, he turned around and ran away.

This had not gone unnoticed by Maxine who would have given chase but she found her path blocked by the final Highwayman. He had yet to fully realise that William had ran away and tried to stand his ground. He trusted his sword at the towering armoured foe but he saw his attack get blocked by her sword. This left him open to attack and he thought that she was going to cut him down with her sword.

The next thing he knew was a sharp pain in his gut region. However, if it had of been a sword it would have been a more piercing pain. Instead the pain was more spread out and felt blunt. He didn't fully realise that she had punched him with enough force to lift him off of his feet. He did soon land back on the ground but all he could do was clutch his stomach and try to recover. But before he could another fist struck him in the back of his head and this knocked the fight right out of him.

With the three highwaymen down, it was time for Maxine to focus on the main reason why she was there. She knew that William had run but she knew that he couldn't have gotten far, with confidence she began to jog in the direction that he had ran but she eventually came to large tree that was blocking the way. There were smaller trees besides it and the gap was too small for her to get through but she thought that it would difficult if not impossible for a normal person to get through as well. In her mind this meant that he was hiding close by and she began to look around. She couldn't see anything immediately but she was more than confident that she was right.

"William Bellamy!" shouted Maxine in an intimidating voice. "I know that you're here, there's no point in hiding from me. I will find you soon enough and when that happens I will take you in."

As Maxine looked for him she was searching in the bushes below but she didn't realise that she was looking too low. William had climbed up a nearby tree and could see her below. Her voice had sounded deeper than usual and he still believed that he was dealing with a man rather than a woman. But he was still getting himself ready, in his hand he had a knife that had never failed him before.

Just when he judged Maxine was in the right position he leapt onto her from the tree and landed on her back. This of course took her by surprise but before she could react she felt his knife against her throat. In quick time he had found where her armour ended and her helmet began. The small gap in-between them where he was able to get down to her flesh, she paused as she realised that for now he had the advantage.

"Unless you want me to slice your throat from ear to ear I suggest you don't do anything stupid," said William. He was holding onto her but as long as he kept the knife to her throat that she couldn't do anything. "That's good, now you're going to give me everything of value that you have and then you're going to let me walk away."

"I suggest that you give up now," replied Maxine. Her voice sounded different now and it was much like her normal voice. This caught him by surprise as this was the first time he realised that he was dealing with a woman. "You're worth more to me alive but I will kill you if you don't behave."

"You're in no position to make demands to me." He dug his knife a little deeper to cut the very top of her skin. It would cause any serious damage but it was just an indication that he wasn't joking around. "Now don't do anything stupid, or I'll cut you open like a stuffed pig." He was more than willing to kill her but now he knew that he would have to go alone. His accomplices were dead as far as he was concerned.

Maxine didn't say anything as she was weighing her options. She thought about grabbing onto his wrist and crushing it. However, she thought that she might not have the time as if she moved he would just slice her throat. She was embarrassed that he had been able to get close to her like this and get into this position. If eldest sister saw her now then she would likely laugh at her.

Suddenly William felt a sharp pain in his back after hearing a metallic sound. It was enough for him to let go of Maxine and he fell down onto his back. He didn't know where the impact was coming from but when he looked up he saw Charles standing beside him. He had struck William in the back using a shovel that he just happened to find in the cart.

Despite being struck by an arrow the man didn't seem to be injured from what had happened. Instead he seemed to be perfectly fine but he saw Maxine looming over him. He wanted to protect himself but an armour-clad boot to the face ended any kind of resistance. He didn't realise exactly what had just happened but the darkness of unconsciousness overtook him.

Maxine looked at her squire who still had the shovel in his hand. He held it with both hands and he looked up at her. He was surprised to see her in a position that was a disadvantage to her. He did wonder what would have happened if he hadn't been there but he knew better than to say anything about it to the towering woman before him.

"Are the others tied up?" asked Maxine. She didn't acknowledge that he had practically saved her life just moments before.

"Yes ma'am," replied Charles. He was hoping to get a thank you but none seemed to be coming.

"And did your breast plate serve you well?"

"Yes ma'am." He then knocked his knuckle a couple of times on his chest. Rather than hearing a fleshy sound instead there was the clang of metal. "Although I think that it might be dented after that arrow shot."

"Be thankful that they didn't aim for the head." She then bent down and picked up the unconscious William Bellamy. He was a little on the heavy side for a man thanks to some of the muscle he had packed on. Despite this she lifted him as if he barely weighted anything. "Now come along, we need to collect our reward before anything else happens. I don't want to be caught off guard."

With that she began to walk toward the horses and cart that they had used during their plan. When Maxine arrived, she could see that Charles had indeed tied them up with the rope that they had been given. She was impressed but she did see that they were outside of the cart. Despite his usefulness with the rope he didn't have the strength to pick up any of the men and he had simply left them there until her return.

One by one Maxine picked up each of the men effortlessly and placed them inside of the cart. She did wait for Charles to tie up William before he too was placed in the cart. One when this was done did she take off her helmet and tie it to her waist. It was then that Charles spotted some trickles of blood coming from her neck. Almost instantly he feared the worst had happened. He quickly looked up at her neck and he had a look of worry on his face, he thought that if she were to die he would be stuck out there with four bandits. Each one was capable of killing him.

"Ma'am you're hurt," said Charles with worry in his voice. "You should go and see a healer immediately."

"I'm fine," replied Maxine. She used her hand to wipe away some of the blood and the wound definitely didn't look to be very deep. Not deep enough to cause her any problems. "It's barely a scratch. Now take the reins and let's get back before any of them decide to wake up."

"As you wish ma'am." He then climbed onto the cart and took the reins. He looked over Maxine as he expected her to sit beside him. Instead she stayed where she was. "Aren't you climbing on as well?"

"No, my additional weight will only slow the cart down. I'm more than capable of walking alongside." He nodded his head and was about to manoeuvre the horses but she got his attention once again. "You did good back there."

"Thank you, ma'am."

With that the horses began to turn the cart around and the pair began the journey back the way that they had come. Although didn't want to admit it they were both tired and couldn't wait to get some much-needed sleep when they got back to the village. An inn would be nice but they knew that they would likely sleep outside.

Maxine felt some discomfort in her legs after all of the walking she had done. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and have a well-deserved rest. Instead she was walking back to the village, she hid her fatigue well but there was only so much she could take. She spoke nothing of this to Charles and simply kept walking.

A short while later they pair eventually reached the village with their still unconscious captures. The first place they were going was nearby jail which was manned even at this late hour. William's accomplices were dropped off and the man himself was even placed in his own cell. The guards at the jail already knew what was happening and they had even prepared for the arrival of the pair.

William's cell was only small as he was only going to be there until the morning. The other three were placed in a larger cell where they would most likely remain for some time. When it came to the money for their capture it would be paid to them the following day as Mr. Adams was already in bed. Maxine was more than willing to wait as she just wanted to go to sleep.

Their spot was just outside of the village under a large tree. By now even Charles was finding it difficult to stay awake and he was close to collapsing. Maxine was the one who kept him from falling asleep straight away until she had found what she considered to be the perfect spot. Her armour clanked against one another as she lay down on the ground and she saw her squire lying down not too far away from her. Almost as soon as his head lay down on the ground he was asleep. She watched him for a few moments and her own eyes began to close.

When Maxine's sapphire eyes opened again she was greeted by the light of morning. Slowly she sat up and began to stretch herself. There was a small pain in her back but it wasn't anything that she was too uncomfortable with. When she glanced over to Charles she saw that he was still asleep. Rather than waking him up straight away she allowed him to rest for another half an hour as she too lay down and let herself come around properly.

Eventually the time came and she got up to her feet. Looming over the normal size man she began to nudge him with her foot. At first, he was mostly unresponsive but he began to wake up after she had to tell him that it was time to get up. He was coming to but his eyes were closed as he still wanted to sleep.

"Five more minutes," said Charles as he wanted to have a few extra minutes of rest. Rather than allowing him to sleep she grabbed him by the ankle and lifted him up. This quickly woke him up as he felt himself dangling in the air. As he looked up he could see that she didn't have a very happy expression on her face.

"When I tell you that it's time to get up I mean it," replied Maxine in a commanding voice. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Good," replied Maxine. She then let go of his ankle and he fell to the ground. It wasn't high enough for him to receive any injuries. He quickly got back up to his feet and looked up at her. "We're going to collect our reward for Bellamy's gang, then we get something to eat and then after that we'll collect him from the local jail. After that we take him to Grey Town so that he can be taken off of our hands."

"Out of curiosity how far is it from here to Grey Town?"

"Not very far, a few hours of walking and we'll be there. On the way we need to make sure that he doesn't escape. I don't like going through all this effort only for him to slip away, that would make me angry and believe me you don't want to see me angry."

"I can only imagine." In his head an image of her tearing down a building in her rage, he knew that he was likely exaggerating a little but something inside of him felt that she could possibly achieve that. She was definitely the strongest person that he had ever seen and it somewhat scared him.

With their conversation over the pair returned to the humble abode of Mr. Adams. He had woken up fairly early that morning and he was more than happy to pay Maxine and Charles for their efforts. He paid them gold for the capture of William's gang but there was some deducted thanks to what they had used for the trap. It was still enough to get them by for a short while and Charles recorded it down in his book.

Before the pair could leave the village, they returned to the jail. The gang had regained consciousness from the night before. They were not very happy to see Maxine and if they were outside of their cells they would likely gang up on her in order to try and murder her. It was unlikely that this would be successful but it didn't mean that they weren't going to try at least.

With the help of a couple of the guards at the jail William was successfully tied up and he was shouting and cursing the entire time. In the end it was so bad that Maxine tied a piece of cloth around his mouth in order to shut him up. One thing that she made sure of was that his nose wasn't covered, she didn't want him suffocating as she would lose money if he were to die.

With their prize now secure Maxine threw William over her shoulder almost as if he was a deer that she had killed. He struggled as much as he could but the rope prevented him from doing anything. More than once she was tempted just to end him there and then but the additional gold that she would get for him being alive was too great for her to even properly consider killing him.

Once everything else was sorted both Maxine and Charles began the relatively short walk to Grey Town. Both of them just wanted to get their gold and enjoy themselves somewhat until she moved onto her next job. As promised she had given him some gold for his efforts and although it wasn't as much as she had received it was still enough for him. He was tempted to spend it but he decided that for now it was best to save it, he didn't know when he was going to need it again.

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