(woo 200, let's go!)
Is it really surprising that Damian is fascinated by the fact Herrera hasn't burned through his money? No, not really one can guess, but he is a little taken aback. A lot of gamblers he's come across already have copious amounts of plans on what they're going to spend it on. His eyes squinted as he went into thought. That's right, Herrera has an entire museum's worth of watches. Everything makes sense now.
A gap between his lips formed. A Triple A membership being the first thing Herrera mentions? He laughed a little. This guy never fails to leave him in some degree of confusion; never ever. Definitely has priorities nevertheless.
Damian scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Canada? The first place you want to travel to is Canada?" Clicking his tongue, he shook his head. "You could always go there, go somewhere else first…somewhere more exciting."
"Australia? Japan? Taiwan? New Zealand? The UK? South Africa? Argentina? Doll, as soon as this is over, I can go anywhere." A wistful look crosses his eyes before he blinks it away. Felix has always wanted to travel, see the world, meet new people, find new casinos, reap the profits of international gambling. His record's been muddled since he was sixteen. The grand larceny charge when he was eighteen didn't help his appeal to wipe his juvenile report.
Shea emerges from the kitchens with a receipt and Felix's card in hand. She drops them unceremoniously in front of her friend and reaches over to take the emptied plates and glasses. "I'm assuming everything was alright?" She flicks her dark eyes between Felix and Mae.
"Good," Damian laughed. His eyes narrowed, yet only for a second. When this is over….God, he hopes it all will have an end and that it will be within due time. Between the long hours, haggling with people, and being away from his kids, he is exhausted. But now, he smiled even though his eyes copied the same look in Herrera's. "So do it. Go everywhere. Anywhere that is exciting and excites you."
The sounds of glasses clinking together brought his shoulders up. His chin shot over. "Huh?" Damian had to pause to think for a second. Yes for a simple question, he still had to. Just as his eyes took a glance at Herrera, he nodded. "Yeah, everything was perfectly alright."
"Glad to hear it," Shea nods with a small, genuine smile on her face as she retrieves the rest of the plates from in front of the men. "Get home safe. Felix, I'll see you on Saturday?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, doll." Felix snaps his fingers and pockets his card. He briefly checks his phone, noting the text from his roommate. He turns to Mae with a full smile. "Ready to head out, darlin'?" He checks the time on three of his five wrist watches. "We're going to have to pick up my roommate on the way back but I can assure you that she does not bite." Shea barks out a laugh. Felix sends her a steely glare.
"That is the biggest fucking lie you've told this year, Felix," Shea snorts before heading back to the kitchen.
Felix shrugs. "That's enough talking to Shea for the day. I have my telenovela to catch up on. You have your children to look after." He pats his coat and strides over to the door.
The look in his eyes were foggy. Every now and then his mind gets foggy. Usually he doesn't let it happen during work, so it spontaneously happens any other time. He was slow to respond, but gave a swift nod with a somewhat confused smile. What did he say yes to again?
Damian snorted at the sight of the multiple watches. It is something that will never get old with him. "Alright." Wasn't really a problem for him. He wondered if that meant he should sit in the back or not; doesn't really matter given that he is always too tall for any kind of vehicle he's in.
He just gave Shea a small wave then got off the stool. Having to stretch his legs a little, he frowned as he heard some bones crack. "Yes, my little beasties," Damian laughed. Once he felt able to, he strolled over to the door after Herrera.
They exit the restaurant, Felix casting one last goodbye shout towards Bianca bustling around in the back. She waves over her back, not even turning around to see her friend off. The sun has gone down slightly, but the day is still bright. Felix's sedan chirps as he unlocks the doors. His coat shifts and squirms as Jackpot weasels his way to the neck of the trench coat.
Felix plops down in the driver's seat with a sigh; the engine rumbles with a turn of his keys. "So, doll, anywhere else you'd like to go? Anything else you wanna know?"
Damian ducked his head as he got in. He rolled his shoulders back, trying to get comfortable as possible. After putting the seatbelt on, he lifted his chin up to look at Herrera. He only just shrugged at first. His brain told him that he already knows enough about Herrera and that he really doesn't need to know more.
Then again, it is always nice to get to know someone. He shivered. God, where did that thought come from? "I don't know," He said. Damian stared out the windshield. "Why did you become a poker player? I'm sure you didn't always want to be one, right?"
As Jackpot scrambles out of Felix's coat and into the hack seat, he can't help but laugh a little at Mae's question. It wasn't like it surprised him or anything… Perhaps it's the simplicity? "My Tia Marta introduced me to the game during Christmas. I was five–maybe six." Felix begins to pull out of the parking lot as he reminisces on the memory inside a sweaty house around a cramped dining table. They bet with cheap hard candies instead of actual chips. "I won right away. Got a whole twenty dollars from it." He smiles. Twenty-nine year old Felix would absolutely sneer at a measly twenty dollar profit, but in the eyes of his younger self, that was practically all the spare change in both of his parents' wallets combined.
"But no, I didn't always want to do this professionally," He continues. "I wanted to become an entrepreneur, start a business and make millions. It's what my parents wanted too, even though as the only son they wanted me to take over the family ranch and turn that into a business." He slightly presses his lips together as he turns out of the parking lot and onto one of the streets out of the mini-strip. "That all kinda went out the window fast, so I fell back on what I was good at." He spares a cursory glance over to Mae. "Playing cards."
"What?" The light laugh confused him. At least he asked him something, right? He's being more considerate than he is with the other detectives. Of course he has more respect for Herrera than some of the detectives; he'd never go to a bar with them.
The whole time he kept his eyes on Herrera. He didn't really move a muscle till he laughed a little at the twenty bucks part. His regular dad mentality kicked in. "Oooh twenty bucks?" He whistled. "That's a lot." Damian always did that anytime one of the twins got money from birthday gifts, Christmas, or New Years. He smiled a little at Herrera.
An entrepreneur, he could see Herrera being one. His personality and street smarts could be beneficial in the sense of business. It's all about risk, just like gambling. He wondered how the thought of turning the family ranch into a business didn't work out, yet he wasn't sure of whether or not to ask. Ironic how he isn't keen on asking personal things outside of detective work.
Damian hummed, giving an understanding nod. "It's smart, you didn't give up or complain. You know fell back onto something…That's good…"
"God, you're such a dad–" Felix snorts. Well, Felix supposes the dad-mentality would come in a package deal with… actually having kids. "And yeah, it was a ton to me… God, I bought myself a little weasel stuffed animal." He laughs and brings his hands up to his eyes when they reach a stoplight. "The ones with the beady black eyes and the red heart nametag?" His brain-office itches as he struggles to recall the name.
Nevertheless, Felix smiles and returns his eyes to the road. The streetlamps flicker to life as the setting sun begins to drift behind the desert horizon. A familiar ABBA song plays softly on the radio. "I don't wallow, Damian," Felix sighs. "Better to keep moving then get stuck. When shit hit the fan when I was sixteen I had to keep my head up, keep pushing on, y'know?" He remembers the feeling of being cast out, standing outside of his house in the cold night with nothing but a small backpack, a sinkhole feeling like it had opened up beneath his feet. "And I'm smarter than you realize, darling." He diminishes the reminiscing, not wanting the pit in his stomach to linger for the rest of the night. "You roll with the punches."
As he turns down the street towards Rhyda's girlfriend's house, Felix tucks his lips beneath his teeth. "Life sometimes doesn't feel like your own, but you gotta live with it. Make the best of what you have."
"Thank you." He laughed. A little weasel stuffed"The ones with the beady black eyes and the red heart name tag?" Damian squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what Herrera was talking about. He tapped his left knee while trying to figure out, but gave up and went to Google. He put in the description and managed to find something matching. "Ty Beanie Babies…Huh, I remember these things."
Putting his phone back into his pocket, he went back to looking out the window. It was always something being able to sit in the passenger seat and having the chance to look at Las Vegas as they pass by. He wanted to ask Herrera about what happened, yet he worried about interrupting him.
"I know…I know…" The prejudice he still holds onto must have passed on the impression. It's on him though. "Being here now must prove the point, right?"
Damian slouched a little in the car seat. In the corner of his eye, he looked towards Herrera. He offered a small smile. "It's true," He nodded. "Fix it, that's what I was told to do, but I like what you said more."
Felix nods, but doesn't really respond. The Beanie Babies tidbit is helpful, maybe he'll have to get some for his nephews. Their fourth birthday is coming up, after all, and Miranda refuses to quit pestering Felix to come. Odds are he'll drop by with presents for the three of them and jet out before his father could arrive or his mother started crying. What were their favorite animals again? Fuck, he's going to have to ask Miranda that and then she'll never shut up about what current animal her children are obsessing over at the moment. God, he'll never understand the appeal of parenthood – He thinks as he sends Mae another side-glance.
"Well, I am extraordinarily wise and brilliant for no reason," Felix responds with a slight laugh. "Just comes with the package deal of being incredibly funny and charming." The blinker echoes through the car as the radio fades between songs. One-story suburban homes line the street, nearly all of them with yellowed grass and cracked porches. He slows to a stop in front of one of the houses. A large slab of stone reading SEDARIS sits next to the front door. "Quick thing you should know about my roommate:" He turns to Mae with a near grave expression. "She's mean."
It baffles Damian how a bunch of stuffed animals can make him feel old. Being almost thirty-five is old in a context, but it is something when Beanie Babies can make you think of the 90s. He might have some from his childhood in a box somewhere in the house. Maybe Adonis and Mina would like them. He could give them to Herrera too.
Damian chuckled a little. Rolling his eyes, he smiled. "Ahhh I see, but there is a reason though. It's because you are Felix Herrera," He laughed. "Guess I should learn a thing or two from you then, huh?"
As the car slowed down, he leaned a little forward to look out the side window by Herrera. The place looks pretty much like his neighborhood. Less kid toys lying around though. His brow arched. "Mean?" Damian shook his head. "Alright, I'm sure everything will be alright."
Almost as soon as Mae finishes his words, the passenger door is yanked open. "Backseat," Felix quickly corrects before Rhyda could sit right on the detective.
She's fairly tall, lean and flat. Her skin is even paler in the Nevada evening, freckles as red as her hair covering nearly her entire face. She wears a pair of sunglasses over her eyes, a few wild curls escaping her ponytail to frame. "What?" She says, her lip slightly curling up. Her voice is low and tired, as if her voice box is stuck in a perpetual state of exhaustion.
"Backseat, doll," Felix repeats.
"Did you put the weasel in my seat again?" Rhyda asks. She's wearing a heavy bomber jacket over a worn rusty brown Queen shirt. Her light jeans don't necessarily match, one of her socks bright yellow and the other a solid gray beneath her black combat boots. She reaches her hand out to pat the seat, instead lightly hitting Mae's chest. "Who's this?" Her head doesn't move. In fact, her chin never moves from it's parallel position with the road. She moves her hand up, patting poking up to Mae's face before grabbing his jaw.
Damian just sat there. He really had no need to say anything. The door was opened practically in an instant. Turning his head, he stared at the roommate. He liked the Queen shirt she was wearing. Just like every other moment he wanted to say something, there had to be some sort of interruption to stop him.
"Oh…" Never did he expect to get patted before getting grabbed by the jaw. His eyes did shut when she nearly poked them. Eventually in the seconds after, he didn't really care. It's fine, he guesses. Still was surprising to him though. "Not the weasel," He dryly joked. Scoffing, he rolled his eyes. Nevertheless, Damian did his best putting on a nonchalant tone. "I'm Damian Mae. Felix works with me. Nice to meet you." He didn't feel like calling himself "Detective Damian Mae" when not in work mode since it sounds too pretentious; yes he admits that he is a bit pretentious, but he's working on not sounding like an asshole constantly.
"You must be the one that Felix had to leave to get Kool-Aid for. Right?"
"Damian Mae?" Rhyda repeats, finally detaching her hand from the detective's jaw. She brews on the name for a moment before straightening her posture with a devilish grin. "Hey, you're the detective guy Felix was telling me about!" She slaps her hand against his chest before moving her hand along the car to the backseat handle. "Watch it, weasel," She murmurs, as she instinctively flings Jackpot to the other side of the back bench.
"And damn right I'm the one Felix had to get Kool-Aid for, and the fucker drank it all!" After closing the door, she leans over the back console, her head positioned straight in front, glaring out the front windshield. "I hate him so much. Don't sleep with him."
Felix can't help but laugh. "Rhyda, doll, we aren't together. Coworkers." He sends a glance over to Mae, knowing full-well Rhyda can't see it.
"Sure, that's what you said about the last girl." Felix slaps her shoulder. "I am going to remove each one of your carpal bones and throw them at your head."
The detective guy. Yes, that's him. Honestly he would have thought Herrera would have called him something else around his roommate; surprisingly he hasn't. Damian sucked in his breath while patting the area she hit him. He murmured, "Ssi-Bal", underneath his breath then closed the car door.
He hummed, giving Herrera a side glance. "Speaking of which, did you finished the leftovers I'd given you that day? I could make more when I have the time…." Rhyda's words made him laugh a little. Well, that is until he processed the last few.
"Just coworkers…." Usually, he doesn't sleep with those that he works with. It's not like he has the time to anyways, but nevertheless. Damain looked back at Herrera, giving him a shrug.
Damian snickered, lightly shaking his head. "Would be quite the process and time waster, I must say…"
"No, no, it'll be a perfect use of my time." Rhyda waves her hand, coming close to hitting Felix's ear. "Plus, Detective Guy, your food was subpar but better than anything Felix can make." As she speaks, Felix pulls the car away from the curb and towards Mae's house. He doesn't need the GPS, for he had already mapped the route deep into the files in his brain.
"She means it was good," Felix translates Rhyda's brashness. He glances over to smile at him. "And it was, don't get me wrong." He takes a corner a little sharper than necessary to send an unbuckled Rhyda sliding right into the backseat door. Jackpot scrambles out from behind her. "I'd love if you would make more if you get the chance."
Rhyda grumbles something along the lines of "I can't stand you. I am crashing this car to take you down with me. I am going to throw you through the window." Felix does not hear her. "I don't think you two were properly introduced. Damian, this is my roommate Rhyda, and Rhyda this is my… coworker Damian. Do not kill each other." Even though he's fully aware that Rhyda can't see it, Felix shoots her a dirty look in the rearview mirror.
His brows briefly quirked up. "If you say so…" He was a little confused. Does she mean that his food is good or not? Did not really make sense to him at first, yet he tried to analyze the words. To face someone who is as brash as some of his "respective colleagues" is quite impressive to him
"Ahhh, I see…." Damain scoffed, briefly looking over at Herrera. He mouthed the words "Thank you" then returned Herrera's smile with one of his own. "Well if you ever need Korean food then, you know who to call, I guess." Hopefully he will be able to have time to cook. Constantly relying on leftovers or making dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and SpongeBob macaroni gets awfully boring. Cooking is one of his favorite things to do.
Like a parent with their kid learning how to drive, Damian quickly put his hand on the assist grip. Pretty sure he had heard a bit of what Rhyda was mumbling, but he decided it would be better if he didn't make any comments. He shared the same sentiments, sort of.
Though it wouldn't be any use, Damian looked over his shoulder at Rhyda. "Nice to meet you," He said before looking back out the windshield. Herrera's words made him chuckled. His shoulders lightly bounced till he deeply exhaled. "Don't worry, Herrera. You know I have two good reasons not to."
"Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you too," Rhyda mumbles, waving her hand absently. "Is he going to be sticking around for long?" Rhyda directs her next question right into Felix's ear.
He laughs, turning the familiar corner over to Mae's house. The nice thing about Vegas is how close everything is. Makes scooting around, sneaking out, and hiding around so much easier. "He's staying as long as we have business together," Felix answers smoothly. "As long as things go our way, this will all be dead and done sooner than you can blink, doll."
"He's not going home?" Rhyda clarifies, jabbing an elbow in Mae's direction.
"Not unless he wants to," Felix answers with a wink shot in the detective's direction.
Damian scoffed at Rhyda's reaction. He smiled a little while shaking his head. To be honest, he would be asking himself the same question too. Regardless of how much he wants the case and all this trouble to be over, he cannot speed any of this up. The case…..He'd completely forgot about it for the past few hours.
Despite the fact that Rhyda won't know his reaction, he still shrugged at Herrera's words. "One can only hope…." He sighed. Damain tried to move away but somehow still got hit by Rhyda's elbow. He grunted. Is he going home? Well, he hasn't thought this far to be frank.
Putting his head back against the headrest, he turned it a little to see Herrera in his peripheral. His brow quirked. "Are you trying to sleep with me?" He mouthed. Damian laughed. "Sure, why the hell not? Or unless Rhyda has any objections…"
"Only if you want to, doll," Felix mouths in return with a smile and a wink before returning his attention back to the road.
In response to Mae's comment, Rhyda dry heaves. "I will personally shoot you both right in the ass." From the scowl on her face and dropped head, it's evident that Rhyda's, without a doubt, spent many, many nights up listening to Felix's endeavors. "Don't even think about it. Stay at a Super 8 and not literally right across our miniscule apartment."
"It's not that bad–" Felix justifies as he pulls up the Mae's house. The buckle clicks as he presses the button, opening his door and gesturing with his head for Mae to do the same.
"Not that bad my ass," Rhyda retorts, pitching her voice up an octave to mock her friend. Felix shuts the driver's door; Rhyda falls back against the back cusions.
He had to roll his eyes. He just had to; there wasn't another perfect reaction. Then he mouthed back, "I'm going to take that as a yes then."
Damian snorted before covering his mouth. In the first instance, he wanted to hold back his words, but to hell with it. "Oh really? Not like it's the first time I felt anything back there…" He sneered, looking out in the rear view mirror. Throwing his hand up, he shook it before it slammed onto his knee. "Don't worry Rhyda….There's always my house if he really wants to."
After undoing his seatbelt, he copied what Herrera did. Running his fingers through his hair, he looked at his house and the car in the drive way. Carefully he got out of the car.
Rhyda's prolonged cry of disgust is cut short by Mae shutting his door. "Sorry about her," Felix says without any real apology in his voice. "I warned you." He shoves his hands into the pockets of his trench coat and sways on the balls of his feet. There's still a smirk on his face, completely unapologetic about the whole sleeping around comments. He looks from Mae's doorstep to his car.
"I wanted to ask about next week. I don't think Rhyda is… well, supposed to hear about the details of the case and stuff." He takes a quick step closer to Mae, quickly figuring out his next words. "I think Dane is a primary suspect here. I bet I can get more information out of him next week…" The distressed look in the gambler's eyes crosses Felix's mind. "Is there anything else you want me to look into? Anything you need me to watch for?"
Turning around, he rested his elbows on the top of Herrera's car. He leaned forward against the car. Damain shook his head. "It is okay, Rhyda's fine. You did give me that warning."
Damian thought back to before they went to the bar. Dane knows. Now he has to come up with a new way for them to operate. He hates not knowing what to do next. "I don't know…..You need to be careful around Dane," He sighed. "I mean you should be careful around everyone, but Dane in particular. We're gonna have to adjust how we do things. I don't think it's safe, case wise, for me to be sitting in that parking lot."
He frowned then motioned towards the house. "Might have you meet me somewhere else like this. We can't have anyone except the two of us know."
