In my next book, taking place somewhere in the late 1870s/early 1880s, I have three groups. Two of these are linked - one is a gang of outlaws and the other bounty hunters. But I have a third group who should somehow be linked with the outlaws, but not be members of the gang. They are: a middle-aged mercenary, and a young girl who form an uneasy alliance. Both have some unfinished business with the lead bounty hunter. But how could they be linked to the bandits? The girl obviously hasn't met them before, she comes from a peaceful, law-abiding Quaker family, but the mercenary can have some past with them. He's not exactly friend, nor foe, but he shall know the gang's older members. Where could they have met before (not just once)?
He purchases weapons from someone in the gang, or he and the bandits buy weapons or other goods from the same merchant. Or maybe the mercenary and some of the bandits were once in the same army or guard service.
If they are old enough, they could be Civil War vets who somehow served together, or were prisoners together, or were in a prisoner/guard relationship. The mercenary might be from the same area as the outlaws and met them when visiting relatives.
Hm, Civil War probably could work. Their generation is about 40-50 years old. The story takes place somewhere in the South - I'll search for an area which has enough rocks but also some plains.
