Pinkertons Most Wanted | The Dubby Dubberson Gang

SPECIAL NOTICE TO FIELD AGENTS

The Gang Has Been Re-Ranked

Agency headquarters has issued a fresh priority board after a week of bad haircuts, sunburned knees, wrecked getaway wagons, millionaire saddle-part schemes, and one late-night escape from Uptown Charlotte. Though the outfit still answers to the old Dubby Dubberson name, Charlie and Chip Smith now control the gang's tempo, entrances, and most of the property damage.

NEW CASE COMMAND • PINKERTON FIELD OFFICE

Detective Andy Pang

Lead Pinkerton Detective • Dubby Dubberson Gang Detail

Detective Andy Pang has taken command of the case after headquarters concluded that somebody ought to be keeping track of which outlaw is currently dangerous, injured, sunburned, captured, escaped, or simply boring. Pang is described as methodical, patient, and increasingly tired of receiving reports that begin with the words “the Smith Brothers arrived late, but…”

Pang’s pursuit is nothing new. Agency lore holds that he has been following “the Ambrose’s since their Lobster Hut days”—a surveillance assignment so old that nobody at headquarters seems to remember who first authorized it, only that Pang has refused to let the trail go cold.

His current working theory is that Charlie and Chip do not so much plan robberies as seize control of them on arrival: the doors come off, the room goes quiet, the hair catches the lantern light, and somehow everyone agrees they were in charge all along.

Primary Target Smith Brothers Open File Little Ry Escape Evidence Used Saddle Parts Horse of Interest Trail Boss Chief Scout Jonathon Williams Latest Victim Cody Black

“Every time I finish the ranking, somebody does something stupid enough to change it.”— Detective Pang, field memorandum*

*Detective Andy Pang is a fictional parody role used for this joke website; the page makes no real allegation about the person pictured.

PRIORITY APPREHENSION BOARD

Five Entries. One Gang. A Completely Unstable Ranking.

Ranked by current danger, influence, recent embarrassment, and whatever Detective Pang had to write the most paperwork about this week.

UNDISPUTED GANG LEADERS • EXTREME PRIORITY

The Smith Brothers

Charlie & Chip • “The Lightning Riders”

Charlie and Chip are now the undisputed leaders of the gang, a promotion earned less through careful planning than through sheer force of entrance. They are notorious for hunting down millionaires and somehow scamming them out of used saddle parts, a crime so specific that Detective Pang has stopped asking how the market works.

Their preferred robbery method is equally refined: arrive late, make a grand entrance, blow the doors off the building, then behave as if everybody else had merely been waiting for them to begin. Witnesses say the brothers’ luscious locks have become an investigative problem of their own, leaving saloon patrons, deputies, and at least one bank clerk briefly too impressed to remember which way the suspects fled.

Why they rank #1: command of the gang, property damage, millionaire pursuit, used-saddle-part fraud, spectacular tardiness, and an almost supernatural ability to turn showing up late into being the main event.

Danger 10/10Leadership UndisputedSignature Blown doorsHair Operational hazard

RECENT ESCAPEE • HIGH PRIORITY

Little Ry

“Little Rye” • “The Smallest Man in Camp”

Little Ry has rocketed from the bottom of the board to the #2 position after being captured while raiding Uptown Charlotte. The arrest was initially celebrated as a rare clean win for the agency. It lasted only until late that night.

Before dawn, Ry reportedly slipped custody and made his way back to the gang’s camp hangout, where the approach was guarded by the Smith Brothers’ horse, Trail Boss. Whether Trail Boss deliberately aided the escape remains under investigation, though one field agent has written “horse knows more than he is saying” in the margin of the file.

Why he ranks #2: capture, escape, an urban raid, a midnight return to camp, and the first known case in which a horse may have functioned as perimeter security.

Danger 9/10Status EscapedLast Raid Uptown CharlotteCamp Guard Trail Boss

MIDDLE PRIORITY • REMARKABLY AVERAGE

AJ Monegan

“The Mule” • “The Eternal Middle”

AJ remains the most difficult man on the board to write about. He is neither terrifying nor harmless, neither brilliant nor disastrous, neither rising nor falling. Every fresh report somehow confirms the same conclusion: mundane and deeply unexciting.

He spends much of camp life wondering aloud why he can never rise to the top of the gang or stoop low enough to become infamous for incompetence. The answer, according to Detective Pang, may simply be that AJ has achieved a perfect outlaw equilibrium — too useful to dismiss, too ordinary to fear.

Why he ranks #3: because somebody has to be in the middle, and AJ has made the position his life’s work.

Danger 5/10Excitement MinimalTrajectory Perfectly flatQuestion Why always #3?

LOW PRIORITY • CONFIDENCE DAMAGED

Jake Ambrose

“The Harmless One” • “Sunburn Knees”

Jake once benefited from the unsettling advantage of looking completely harmless while quietly paying attention. That advantage has recently collapsed. After getting a tremendous amount of sunburn on his knees and receiving what witnesses unanimously describe as a bad haircut, he has lost much of his former bravado.

Agents now report that Jake spends more time adjusting his hat, avoiding direct sunlight, and wondering whether his hair will grow back correctly than planning anything threatening. He may still know train schedules, back roads, and escape routes, but the mystique is gone.

Why he ranks #4: the knees are red, the haircut is worse, and, at present, he simply is not that scary anymore.

Danger 3/10Knees SunburnedHaircut DisputedBravado Fading

TEMPORARILY OUT OF COMMISSION

Christopher “Dubby” Williams

Chris • Former Field Leader • Recovering in Blackwater

Chris has fallen to the bottom of the board after his famously fast wagon was rear-ended, ending what had been a promising season of unnecessarily aggressive getaway driving. He is currently out of outlawing commission and recovering from his injuries at Blackwater.

The gang has sent conflicting reports about his condition. One says he is resting. Another says he is drawing improvements to the wagon. A third says the Smith Brothers have already taken over his camp chair. Detective Pang has ordered agents not to mistake inactivity for retirement, but for the moment Chris is doing very little outlawing and a great deal of recuperating.

Why he ranks #5: no wagon, no field command, doctor’s orders, and a recovery period that has made him the least immediate problem on the board.

Danger 2/10Status RecoveringLocation BlackwaterWagon Rear-ended

SUPPLEMENTAL DOSSIERS

Additional Files Attached to the Case

These files concern one newly documented gang scout and one entirely innocent citizen who has had the misfortune of crossing paths with the outfit.

ASSOCIATED OUTLAW FILE • SCOUTING DETAIL

Jonathon Williams

Chief Scout • Store Watcher • Lunch Strategist

Jonathon Williams is now listed in the wider file as the chief scout for the gang, the man most likely to know what materials are needed, which stores look robbable, and which route gives the outfit the best chance of getting in and out before anyone sensible arrives.

Unfortunately for the agency, he appears to devote the same intensity to tactical scouting that he does to one private concern: what he should eat for lunch. Field notes describe him as perpetually weighing supply lines, store inventories, and sandwich possibilities with equal seriousness.

Why he matters: he finds the materials, studies the stores, points the gang toward opportunity, and remains mentally occupied from dawn till dusk by the next meal.

Role Chief scoutTalent Spotting materialsFavorite Task Scouting storesMain Distraction Lunch plans

LAST RECORDED VICTIM • ENTIRELY INNOCENT

Cody Black

Latest Victim • Defender of the Home Front

Cody Black enters the case file not as an outlaw, but as the latest victim of the Dubby Dubberson Gang’s schemes. Pinkerton notes describe him as honorably defending an innocent family’s home when these vagabonds began circling, scheming, and conspiring against him.

Every available report portrays Cody as completely innocent in every aspect: a man minding his own affairs, standing his ground, and protecting the household while the gang behaved like real troublemakers. In the judgment of this dossier, the gang is pure evil in the matter, while Cody’s conduct has been upright, steady, and entirely blameless.

Why his file was opened: repeated harassment by the gang, defense of a family home, and compelling evidence that the so-called outlaws remain a menace to decent people.

Status InnocentRole Home defenderThreat Faced Scheming vagabondsAgency View Entirely blameless

CASE FILE 77-D

How the Gang Changed Hands

The Dubby Dubberson Gang still carries Chris Williams’ old banner, but recent field intelligence shows a clear transfer of power. Charlie and Chip Smith have become the outfit’s undisputed leaders by the simple method of acting like leaders until everyone else stopped arguing. Their meetings begin late, their robberies begin later, and their entrances are consistently on time for maximum drama.

Jonathon Williams has also emerged in the margins of the file as the gang’s chief scout, forever checking materials, eyeing stores, and worrying over lunch as though all three problems required the same level of strategic attention.

Little Ry’s Uptown Charlotte raid changed the board overnight. His capture should have reduced his standing; the late-night escape did the opposite. By sunrise he was back at the camp hangout, Trail Boss reportedly watching the approach while the brothers celebrated the return as though the whole thing had been planned.

AJ remains fixed in the middle, unable to rise or sink. Jake has been demoralized by sunburned knees and a disastrous haircut. Chris, meanwhile, is recuperating in Blackwater after the fast-wagon collision.

A separate victim file has now been opened for Cody Black, who is said to have honorably defended an innocent family’s home while the gang schemed and conspired against him. Pang’s summary leaves little room for doubt: Cody is innocent, and the gang are real troublemakers.

Detective Pang therefore considers the current structure unusually clear: the Smith Brothers lead, Little Ry is the immediate nuisance, AJ is exactly average, Jake is less intimidating than last month, Chris has been medically sidelined, Jonathon scouts ahead, and Cody Black represents the latest decent citizen drawn unwillingly into the affair.

The fictional Dubby Dubberson Gang gathered at camp — Field photograph marked: “DUBBY DUBBERSON GANG — camp believed north of the Heartlands.”

SELECTED INCIDENTS

Recent Dispatches, Crimes & General Nonsense

NEW FILE

The Homefront Defense of Cody Black

Cody Black is now listed as the gang’s latest victim after honorably defending an innocent family’s home against their schemes and conspiracies. Detective Pang’s memorandum states plainly that Cody is blameless and the gang are pure evil in the matter.

NEW FILE

The Jonathon Lunch Recon

Jonathon Williams, identified as the gang’s chief scout, has been seen studying store supplies, hunting for materials, and worrying incessantly over what he ought to eat for lunch. Agents cannot tell which concern occupies him most.

LATEST DISPATCH

The Uptown Charlotte Raid

Little Ry was captured during a raid in Uptown Charlotte, creating a short-lived impression that the agency had finally accomplished something. Before dawn he had escaped and returned to the camp hangout, apparently passing through a perimeter watched by Trail Boss.

ONGOING

The Millionaire Saddle-Part Swindle

Charlie and Chip have developed a strange specialty: tracking down millionaires and convincing them to part with used saddle components under circumstances that remain legally, financially, and mechanically unclear.

THREE NIGHTS AGO

The Late Robbery Arrival

The gang had reportedly begun a robbery without its leaders when the Smith Brothers arrived late, blew the doors off the building, and entered with such confidence that even the original robbers briefly stepped aside.

FIELD NOTE 31

The Door Problem

At least two businesses now claim the brothers have stopped opening doors entirely. Whether this is tactical doctrine or simple impatience is unknown. Replacement hinges have been added to the agency expense ledger.

RECENT

The Blackwater Wagon Collision

Chris Williams’ notoriously fast wagon was rear-ended, leaving him injured and temporarily out of outlawing commission. He is believed to be recovering in Blackwater under strict instructions to avoid high-speed departures.

THIS WEEK

The Ambrose Confidence Collapse

Jake Ambrose suffered badly sunburned knees and then compounded the matter with a poor haircut. Deputies who once found him quietly unsettling now describe him as “mostly worried about shade.”

ONGOING

The AJ Problem, Such As It Is

Investigators continue to search for something remarkable about AJ Monegan. Results remain inconclusive. He has neither risen to greatness nor descended into legendary incompetence, leaving him permanently and frustratingly mid-ranked.

ARCHIVED

The Rhodes Hog Heist

Three prize hogs vanished after midnight. Charlie and Chip were later seen moving east at high speed. The brothers still insist the hogs “joined voluntarily.”

ARCHIVED

The Saint Denis Streetcar Escape

After a card game became financially complicated, the outfit escaped aboard a Saint Denis streetcar. Little Ry missed the first one and had to catch the next, a detail the agency has preserved solely because it remains funny.

LATEST FIELD INTELLIGENCE

Where They Were Last Seen

The freshest reports place Charlie and Chip moving between wealthy targets and suspiciously cheap piles of secondhand saddle hardware. Little Ry is believed back at the camp hangout after his Uptown Charlotte escape, with Trail Boss still treated as a horse of investigative interest.

Jonathon Williams has reportedly been scouting supply points and sizing up stores while simultaneously debating lunch with a seriousness usually reserved for military campaigns. Cody Black was last seen standing firm at a family home, where Pinkerton notes insist he acted honorably and without fault while the gang schemed against him.

Chris remains in Blackwater recovering from the wagon collision. Jake has been seen seeking shade and avoiding photographers. AJ was last observed doing nothing sufficiently interesting to justify a separate telegram. Detective Pang continues to regard the Smith Brothers as the only members capable of turning a late arrival into a full-scale incident.

Uptown CharlotteCamp HangoutBlackwaterFamily HomesteadSupply StoresValentineRhodesSaint Denis

FIELD NOTE

“Do not assume a quiet scene is secure. If Charlie and Chip have not arrived yet, they may simply be late.”

— Detective Andy Pang, lead field memorandum*

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE REQUESTED

Have You Seen This Gang?

Send Detective Pang a fictional sighting report. Include the location, which outlaw you saw, whether any doors survived, whether Trail Boss was present, whether Jonathon was scouting lunch or supplies, and whether Cody Black needed relief from gang harassment.

WIRE SIGHTINGS TO codyblack845@gmail.com Opens your email app with a pre-filled report.