[Thanksgiving Special, 2025] "Are you good after all that mess?"

“You good after all that mess?” You ask Scarlet, squaring to her.

She sniffed, her nose suddenly runny, and shrugged. “I’ve… gotten over some of it,” she admits with a heavy voice. “I mean, as a girl, I know that situations like that are likely to happen when you’re caught alive, but I know men get it, too.”

You’d heard of men getting “used” like women before. It wasn’t exactly new to the realm of the post-war life you knew. When it happened to men, there was cruel humiliation to it, primarily when conducted in the ways you’d heard before.

“I… had a job once before I got here in Neo Yorkshire,” Scarlet said, walking again. “The Federal **** of Yorkshire had a couple of their guys nabbed for ransom, and instead of standing more of their own to go after them, they hired contractors and dispatched them to raid the raiders that held them. I was one of the 30 they hired. I rallied with them and got hit on the way up to their hideout.”

Scarlet sighed, a cloud leaving her mouth as she recalled the moment. “We got out of the fine enough, but they took this young guy with us. Can’t remember his tag, but his name was Jackob Hertz, and they dragged him all the way back to their camp. This group knew we weren’t going to pay for his ransom, but they kept torturing him as we followed them deeper and deeper in Catskills. Eventually, we get to their camp, but they know we’re close, so they take the soldiers and our buddy to their campfire in plain view of our optics.”

Another sigh; this time, it takes her longer to talk, but she does. There’s a tone of regret in it. “They **** Hertz in front of the soldiers and our marksmen for a few hours in the campfire’s light. Stripped him naked and beat him raw while we tried to organize a method of ****. We couldn’t do it that night, as they just took turns doing that to him. Jacob wasn’t much of a man when they finished. Very demoralizing… Watching someone like that get literally fucked by a dozen dudes,” Scarlet licks dry lips and shakes her head.

“To answer your question. I am fine to a degree. I’m taking a long break after that, don’t get me wrong. But… I don’t know, I think it could have been worse. I’m not as embarrassed as you think. I’m just glad my body seemed to have…rejected their seed,” she rolls her eyes. “Is that what you wanted to hear? I got more fun stories I could tell you.”

“I’m fine,” you tell her. “Now I guess I owe you the same honesty.”

“Of course, I just bled my heart out to you,” she says with a hint of humor and a dry expression. “You and Akiko.”

“This again?”

“I care,” she snorts. “You really haven’t made a move?”

“She’s a client.”

“She’s a cutie,” Scarlet finally smiles, bracing against a dead tree. “What? Are you some kind of a faggot?”

You let out a puff of air through your nose. “I’m a professional.”

Scarlet shrugs. “So? What’s your point? I’ve met my share of gay contractors.”

“Akiko is Japanese.”

“That’s why I’m making sure you’re not doing anything stupid. Word gets out somehow that you’re treating her like a joy toy, and the Japanese decide to send in a **** squad–”

“Then you should worry about Mikka.”

You could tell you bypassed her reasoning, because she looks away as she thinks of a different tactic to learn the gossip she so desires. “I know you slept with McKinley’s wife,” she deadpans.

You waited for her to continue, but she shoots her hands out. “What? Surprised?”

“I did,” you say carefully. She waits. “On more than one occasion.”

She smirks. “You are being honest, huh?”

“Always have been,” you lie, feeling just a little guilty.

“So, why the chance of heart then? You stopped with Sasha because… why, exactly? Someone’s putting out for you. Sasha’s hot, and I’m as straight as they come. I’m not scared to admit that. You must like Akiko at the very least.”

“Why are you so interested in us?” You said with a slightly elevated voice.

Scarlet offers a hand of peace. “Relax. I’m curious, alright? I’ve seen you talking. I… have some suggestions for you if you want to make her more curious too.”

“You’re offering to be my wing man?” You chuckle, watching her blue eyes dance to yours. Some kind of girl-ish character lingering in her personality. She fails miserably at fighting the smile.

“I think it’s kind of cute, plus if you pursue this, it’ll make all the independent hires for the Red Ties look bad. My own neck and reputation are on the line now.”

“Humor me then,” you tell Scarlet, hiding your eagerness.

“You care about Halloween? Ever? As a kid?” Scarlet asks you.

You don’t have to think about it. The last vibrant Halloween you could remember was dressing up like a dinosaur costume your mom stitched for you. But that wasn’t the question she asked, and it’s not the answer you’re about to give. “At one point.”

“Thanksgiving?”

Ample dinners… You nod.

A look of curiosity crosses her face again, like she wanted to ask for her own reasons. “Good gatherings, I take it?”

A flash of memories comes back in a blink. “Some were better than others.”

“Let the girl know a little about you. She seems like the type who wants to learn about more than the culture she’s surrounded by. I bet she’d like to learn a side about you, too.”

“Seems like you have stories you’d like to share about–”

Scarlet shakes her head. “We’re not that close. Now, I suppose we should walk back?”

You are a little offended, but understand. Contractors weren’t ones to get close, and this was a rare moment of…something. “Lead the way back, Scarlet.”