Mike Walker watched as Dutch sat on a small wooden stool, calmly smoking while staring at Kieran who was tied up in the corner, looking utterly miserable.
"Oh? It seems our friend here isn't doing too well," Dutch said with an amused tone. "I imagine there are some things you might want to tell us."
"Please… please, mister, I already told you everything!"
Kieran sobbed uncontrollably, his voice cracking.
"I told all of you I was forced into the O'Driscoll gang! They're not my friends! I don't know anything, I swear!"
He trembled violently, snot and tears pouring down his face from cold and fear.
"Hm. It appears our friend isn't very willing to cooperate," Dutch said lightly. "But perhaps Arthur and Mike might have something to say."
Arthur stepped forward, scowling.
"Stop crying. Start talking. What does your gang know?!"
"I… I can't!"
The cold and terror made Kieran's whole body shake.
Dutch looked at Arthur. "What do you think we should do? Torture him? That might make him talk."
Then he shrugged. "But who am I kidding? Even if he did talk, an O'Driscoll would probably lie anyway. So maybe we should find… entertainment instead."
He leaned toward Kieran with an unsettling grin.
"I heard that in ancient Rome, eunuchs were the happiest and most loyal servants. What do you think?"
Kieran's eyes bulged in terror.
"No… no, please tell me you're joking!"
"If you really were forced into the O'Driscoll gang," Mike said calmly, "then you shouldn't feel loyalty toward them. And if you're afraid Colm will retaliate… I believe Dutch is more than willing to shelter a poor soul."
Dutch didn't speak, but Arthur quickly frowned.
"Mike… he's still an O'Driscoll."
"If he's telling the truth," Mike replied, "then he's just a victim. Nothing more."
Arthur had no response.
Dutch finally nodded.
"Mike is right. Of course… that depends on whether the boy is lying."
"I'm not lying!"
Kieran blurted out desperately.
"I know where they're hiding! I hate Colm as much as you do! Their camp is north of Valentine in Cumberland Forest, at Six Point Cabin! I'll take you there, I swear!"
His words tumbled out in terror, afraid that if he hesitated even a second, Dutch might make good on that Roman 'eunuch' idea.
"You'd better not be playing games, boy," Arthur growled.
"I'm not an O'Driscoll," Kieran whispered weakly.
"Then prove it," Dutch said, flicking his cigarette to the ground.
He stood up. "Arthur, I'm going to speak with Hosea. It's time we left this cursed place."
Dutch walked out, and Mike watched his back with quiet clarity.
After two public confrontations first during the train-planning argument, then after the train robbery Mike knew Dutch now viewed him with the worst possible impression.
If Dutch had a list of who he liked least?
Mike was now deep in the negatives.
But Mike wasn't worried.
Dutch couldn't afford to touch him not yet.
The Van der Linde gang hadn't fallen apart, and Dutch still needed to prove himself flawless.
He needed to maintain the illusion that their gang wasn't just a group of outlaws, but a movement guided by noble ideals.
Dutch would not tear off his own mask.
"Mike… I know what happened in Blackwater scared you," Arthur said quietly once Kieran couldn't hear.
"What happened to Davey nearly killed him. But Dutch.. Dutch is doing his best for all of us."
Arthur misunderstood Mike's resistance.
He thought Mike was simply shaken by his brother's near-death experience.
"Arthur, I'm not trying to embarrass Dutch," Mike replied softly. "But the risks he's taking are too great."
"I get that," Arthur said with a nod.
He didn't press further.
In his heart, Arthur's loyalty to Dutch was too deep.
Mike understood that long before this moment.
Charles, Sadie, Abigail, Uncle those people could be swayed.
But Arthur Morgan?
Trying to convince him to leave Dutch would be a fool's errand.
Even in Mike's past life, playing the game, he had loved Arthur as a character.
But this wasn't the game.
Arthur wasn't the dying, self-reflective version who sought redemption.
He was young, loyal, and still believed in Dutch.
And Mike would never trust his fate to someone that devoted.
So he merely chatted lightly, never revealing his true plans.
In this gang, some people could be allies.
But Arthur Morgan would never be one of them.