The Green Room, Radio Station WENN, February 1942, An Hour Later
Hilary Booth looked up from her tea. “And they all lived happily ever after, I suppose? Even that quite interesting noblewoman who got shackled to the young man who threw her over for some female pirate.” She joined them on the couch. “I wish I came in a little earlier. That was quite a story you two came up with.”
Maple nodded. “Yeah, it was. I had fun with it. Do you think we could actually get it on the air, Betty?”
“If we could get a sponsor interested in it. Stories about American history are really popular right now, what with the war and all.”
Hilary put a hand on Betty's shoulder. “I get the feeling you wish things really had ended that way.”
Betty ran her finger over the coffee table again. “I don't know what I feel, Hilary. Everything was so jumbled after Pearl Harbor. It felt unfinished, like those cliffhangers in The Crimson Blade finale. It wasn't the way I would have ended things.”
“I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure liked that ending.” Betty started. That voice was too familiar. It should have been at basic training...
The three women looked up to see Victor Comstock, Scott Sherwood, and Jeff Singer standing in the doorway, all with enormous grins on their faces.
Hilary, Maple, and Betty all stood at once. “How long have you three been there?” Betty demanded.
“Long enough, Betty.” Scott chuckled. “Long enough to be glad I heard that epic.”
“You do enjoy your former forests,” Victor added with his small smile.
Jeff added his own grin. “I thought the ending was brilliant. Especially the part where the noblewoman defeated the evil pirate wench in a duel.”
Victor's eyes went to Maple. “I enjoyed making the Crimson Blade's second-in-command a woman. It's not an idea one typically finds in your standard action melodrama.”
“I liked how the Crimson Blade reformed and got the girl.” Scott tipped his officer's hat. “Even if he had to leave her for a little while in the end.”
“Scott,” Betty began, “what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at basic training in Texas?”
“I was.” Scott's grin was a mile wide. “The government decided that they needed an old hand at codebreaking and radio more at home than on the battlefield. I was transferred.”
Victor put a hand on Scott's shoulder. “You're now looking at the Business and Advertising Manager of WENN and the W.E.N.N. I'll remain on as the Creative Director and General Manager.”
“You mean you're all staying?” Maple turned to Scott. “Even you, Scotty?”
Scott nodded. “That's right.” He turned to Victor. “We said some things we shouldn't have the day I left...a lot of things, really. Confronting Betty in the manager's office like we did was just plain stupid.”
Betty made a face. “I still can't believe the two of you put me on the spot like that. Did you really think I'd choose one of you right then and there?”
“I don't think anyone's head was really on straight in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor.” He put out a hand to Scott. “If The Crimson Blade and Johnathan Arnold can make a truce, I don't think it should prove too much of a difficulty for Scott Sherwood and Victor Comstock.”
Scott shook the offered hand. “Sure, Vic...tor.”
Hilary quickly put her tea cup in the sink. “Would you excuse me, please? I have to be on the air in a minute, before we have to hear Eugenia attempt to play Yvonne the Terrible on 'Crimebreakers.' If Mackie tries to kiss her, her new fiancee Mr. Foley will likely plant a fist in his kisser.”
Jeff stopped her in the hallway. “Hilary, did you really marry Scott Sherwood?”
She stopped by the water cooler. “Yes and no.” She got a drink, then turned to him. “It was a sham, Jeffrey. Some scheme Scott was working on before he left for Texas. The marriage papers were fakes.” She took a drink, then continued. “I went along with it to make you jealous. I was so hurt when you went and married Pavla like that, even if you initially had good intentions.”
“Trust me, Hilary, I've done nothing but regret the entire incident with Pavla ever since it happened.” He took her hand. “I really mean it this time, Mittens. I'm a free man. Will you be my wife? We could have that real wedding you mentioned in the story.”
“A wedding would be nice, even with wartime restrictions.” She patted his cheek. “We'll see, Pumpkin. I may even consider dating you, if I'm feeling very, very generous. You could even kiss me good-night.”
“It would be a start.” He followed Hilary into Studio A. “If you'd just listen...”
Scott and Betty watched them. “Are they still at it?”
Betty glared at him. “Well, you did go and marry Hilary. That put a bit of a strain on their relationship.”
“I never married her. It was a fake. It was...something I was working on before I went to Texas.” He sighed. “Betty, I swear, I've changed. I probably won't give up cons entirely. It's a part of me.” He looked around at the station, smiling wistfully. “But most of me is just happy to be home.” He offered his arm. “Dinner at the Buttery? My treat. We could discuss new program ideas...and maybe some other things.”
She finally smiled and took his arm. “All right, my dashing Crimson Blade.” She looked at her own watch. “Oh, would you look at the time.” Scott raised his eyebrows, but his only response was a small grin.
Victor frowned as Scott and Betty took their coats and headed out the door. He barely noticed Maple joining him. “Hey, I don't have to be on the air until 'The Glint Grab Bag.' Wanna grab a bucket of suds at O'Malley's?”
He smiled at her. “You know, that was always my favorite program. I never missed it when I worked here full-time. I even wrote the 'Looneyville' sketch myself.”
“You did?” She took Victor's arm. “Why don't ya tell me all about it over a burger and fries?”
“Why not? I don't have anywhere I genuinely need to be tonight, besides the station.”
Maple grinned as they followed Betty and Scott out the door. “Ya know, Victor, I think this could be the beginnin' of a beautiful relationship.”
The End
The Adventures of the Crimson Blade
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