Omg Smearp, hi Smearp :D I like your stuff too.
Micah's entire plan seems to be to split the gang up and keep those 5-6 strong independant men he mentions in chapter 4, and prior to the Saint Denis robbery, Dutch is still fairly sane and when he isn't, Hosea is there to stablise him. Not only that but there is still a big trust between Dutch and Arthur/John. The gang still has faith, but then Guarma happens, Hosea is dead, doubt is blooming like a flower in spring and all Dutch needs to fully go off the rails is a little push and a little extra pressure.
Micah is quick to take Hosea's position, but rather than helping to stabilize Dutch, Micah pushes his own ideas onto him... Which isn't really enough... Imagine chapter 6 without the Pinkertons breathing down the gangs neck, that is a big pressure removed from Dutch's shoulders, but Micah needs that pressure to squish Dutch, to make him act out so that he can push the "unloyal" and "weak" away.
It is fantastic timing really, and I don't think Micah planned to rat as he got off Guarma, as Milton said they picked him up, so I think Micah just took the oppotunity when it presented itself.
And it worked, well sort of, in the end it was him, Joe, Cleet, Javier, Bill and Dutch, the small but terrifying gang he had dreamt of, he had just pushed too much because he ended up pushing half of them away.
