forum las vegas lights // oxo // closed

Started January 22, 2022 by @larcenistarsonist group

tune

An hour later, with the latest episode of La Playa Dorada del Atardecer's credits rolling across the screen and tears rolling down his face, Felix is fuming. As it turns out, Carmen was found out by her older brother (who they all thought was dead), and her brother exposed her in front of her grandmother right at the family reading of her grandfather's will and Carmen's grandmother had a heart attack right then and there. Not to mention, both of the men Carmen had been having an affair with are actually in a relationship of their own and Carmen's sister swept in and stole Carmen's husband from right under her nose. Just as Mae predicted.

Disasterous.

In an ice cream and tequila induced rage, Felix grabs his phone off of the coffee table and calls the first contact he sees. Damian, followed by quite an amount of emojis.

A dreamless sleep. Probably one of the better ones he's had in a long time. That is the one positive of working endlessly in a detective office for forty-five plus hours a week. Even if he had only been asleep for an hour, it felt like an eternity to him by the time his phone sang a little tune, alerting him of a phone call.

Everything looks blurry. His eyes are too lethargic to focus on whatever name is popping up on the screen. Although, for the last two years, it is either his mother in law, the chief, or his therapist. Sometimes his older brother or cousin, but that never really happens. Either way, Damian yawned as he picked up the call and pressed the phone to his left ear.

"Hello, Damian speaking…."

"Te odio, hijo de puta!" Are the first words out of Felix's mouth. Hell, he knows he's not speaking English but there's no time for translating his thoughts. By no means is Felix actually quiet. If his roommate has a problem with his telenovelas, then she can go live on the street for all Felix cares. "Cómo te atreves a hacerme esto? Carmen fue descubierta por su hermano y el giro - LO PREDIJISTE - me dejó vacío y jodidamente molesto! Dónde vives Damián? Tengo mi corbata lista y quiero empujarla por tu garganta!"

His roommate screams something from her room. Felix shouts a long-winded insult in true rapid-fire Mexican Mother fashion. If his sisters were around, they'd tell him he only needed a chanclas to complete a perfect replication of their mother.

Sudden shouting caused him to jump and sit up in his chair. His eyes were shot wide despite the sleepiness still hanging onto him. Damian half understood what was being yelled at him. Naturally, he would ignore, but his brain went on and translated everything anyways.

Groaning, he reluctantly got up from his chair. His phone vibrated against the side of his ear. Damian put the call on speaker while he responded to a text from his mother in law. "Te dije….Te dije…" He yawned, turning his laptop off.

As Felix kept shouting at him through the phone, he started to close up shop. Jokingly, he texted Felix his address. "Ven a buscarme entonces si realmente estás tan enojado. Dame quince minutos."

In a brief moment of shock, Felix forgets his rage. Felix had been speaking in Spanish. Mae had responded in Spanish. Heavily accented but fluent. And Mae is practically inviting Felix over to his house. Tossing aside his anger and leftover sadness from the episode, Felix stares at the address, a smile already crawling across his face.

Maybe this detective isn't that bad after all. "Te vas a arrepentir de esto, muñeca," Felix says quietly before hanging up. "Jackpot! Come!" He shouts. His roommate's seeing-eye dog lifts his head from where he's resting in the dog bed as the weasel wiggles his way out from under the German Shepard's body. The dog toy in Jackpot's mouth jingles as he skitters over to Felix's lowered arm. Jackpot drops the small, clambers up Felix's arm and curls around his neck.

"Rhyda, I'm off to bother a detective!" Felix shouts as he grabs his keys from the counter.

"I swear to god, Felix, if you bring back another guy-" Rhyda threatens from her room.

"I won't!" Felix cuts her off. "Unless-" He wiggles his eyebrows even though his roommate is in another room and blind. Rhyda screams, hearing the intent in his voice and tells Felix repeatedly to fuck off and never come back. Felix cackles and exits through the front door.

For Damian, being sleepy is only one step below of what it is like when he's drunk. The only thing is he quickly realizes what happens the moment after something happens when he finally wakes up. And holy shit, why did he send Herrera his address? Why did he think that was funny? Why is he as much of an idiot as the poker player? Why? His eyes were wide with realization until his normal frustrated disappointed self returned. "Ya me arrepiento de muchas cosas, gilipollas."

Zooming out of the office with his backpack, he said goodbye to Alfaro then hopped into his car. His mother in law texted asking when he would pick the kids up, and he responded with "I'll pick them up in 10" which is very much true. Somehow he struck out when moving to Las Vegas with his wife. They lived ten minutes away from his mother in law, and only five more from his work. Even in scenarios where he accidentally sends his address to a crazy poker guy who he's forced to work with, it all ends up working out.

As expected, traffic on the way there was terrible, but better given it being a weekday. And as expected, his son, Adonis, was still sound asleep by the time he arrived. Mina, his daughter, was like Damian, a bit groggy but awake nevertheless. Usually the kids were up and very talkative, but they had a later nap than usual. They were quiet up until he rolled into the driveway; also known as the moment he told them about a visitor coming to their home.

"A visitor? Who?" Mina asks while Damian unbuckles her. "Shrek? Donkey?"

Gently lifting her, setting her on the ground with her purple backpack, he chuckled. "No, it would be cool if it was Shrek or Donkey. I would have planned to make waffles and not dino nuggies."

"I want dino nuggies," Adonis yawned, rubbing his right eye. Looking up at his dad, he held his arms up. "Pleaseeeee"

Damian knelt down so Mina could get on his back, then he carefully picked up Adonis. "Don't worry, Adonnie, you'll get your dino nuggies soon," He cooed, while opening the door.

Felix is ninety percent sure there's been at least three murders in his apartment building since the 90s. Everything about it fits the bill. From the pothole ridden parking lot, the sketchy elderly neighbors, the chipped and sun-bleached stucco walls. Not to mention his asshole landlord that likes to raise the rent every few months. It's nothing Felix can't handle, but he's heard plenty of his fellow residents grumbling about it by the mailboxes.

Felix gets into his car, tossing Jackpot into the backseat. The weasel listlessly flops against the cushion before turning upright and scuttling up to the middle console. Felix starts the car and inputs Mae's address into his GPS app.

Seventeen and a half minutes later, with the sun just barely touching the horizon, Felix pulls up to a modest home. He purses his lips. What a perfectly fitting house for the detective. "Alright Jackpot-" Felix turns to his furry companion. "We got a detective to bother." Scooping Jackpot up by the stomach and ensuring his keys are in his pockets, Felix exits the car and travels to the doorstep.

Everything in his home was just as one can imagine it. Neat and clean, except for a few toys scattered on the floor. Pictures of the family, individuals, places, and things hung up on the walls. There are even artworks from the twins framed up along with the university degrees of him and his wife's. Most of the house looked nice thanks to his wife having a good eye for interior decorating; he didn't bother changing any of it in the almost three years. He can't.

Adonis and Mina sat at the table near the kitchen eating. As mentioned before, the main entree is dinosaur nuggets. Damian also made some small side dishes of cucumber salad, braised potatoes, and, Mina's favorite, tuna pancakes. Adonis tilted his head left and right while humming as he ate. Mina bit on the edge of her rubber cup before looking over her shoulder at the window. "Cha…" She sang before picking up a potato and pretend to feed her bat plushie with it.

Damian walked out of the bathroom, adjusting his sleeves. "Cha?" He asked, holding his fists and motioning a steering wheel. He wore a white long sleeve Boston University shirt and black shorts. His lips curled back, watching as his daughter nodded. As he walked to the door, he kissed the top of her head.

It really is no surprise that Herrera showed up. While he regrets his actions, he found himself giggling as he opened the door. "Of course he brings the furry noddle," He murmurs underneath his breath. "Great….just great…"

Felix raises an eyebrow at Mae's unexpected somewhat-lighter mood. "Of course I'm bringing Jackpot with me, didn't I tell you he's my emotional support ferret?" He purses his lips and puts on his best baby voice. "Isn't that right, Jackpot?" The weasel isn't there. "Jackpot?" The baby voice is gone.

Felix leans to the side, looking past Mae and into his house. Sure enough, Jackpot is scurrying across the floor, going deeper and deeper into the house. "Ese maldito fideo." He mutters before inviting himself inside.

Damian started to look around for the furry noodle just about the same time the poker player did. Biting the inside of his cheek, he tried not to laugh at the man's baby voice. Given the whereabouts of the rodent, it is funny. From the door, he could hear Mina giggling while Adonis asked, "What's that?" Turning around, he saw the infamous noodle zooming around the floor. An short exhausted sigh flew from his lips.

He turned around and shouted at Herrera, "Ay! Quitarse los zapatos, pendejo! Ahora!" With his left hand, he closed the door. The twins still sat at the table, but they curiously watched the weasel while eating. They didn't even acknowledge the guest or the fact that their dad wasn't talking in English or Korean; they just tilted their heads and giggled at the funny thing on the floor. Adonis was less welcoming of it compared to his sister.

His current demeanor is half calm but also half strung up as usual. At home is not as straitlaced as people see him, he just doesn't want to be like that around his kids. When Adonis tilted his head to look at him, he smiled. "What is it, my little beast?"

"Did it drive here?" Adonis asked.

Walking over to his son, he kissed the top of his head then stole a dinosaur nugget. "Mhm" He hummed.

"But I thought you said animals can't drive."

He smirked then looked over at Herrera, "That one does a lot of things. It can take keys and lock doors. He's a friend, I guess."

Felix laughs at Mae's lecture, using the wall for balance as he toes off his shoes. "Suenas como mi hermana." After finishing his task, Felix finds himself standing somewhere in between the dining room and the entry way. Jackpot had skittered over to the table, already climbing one of the chairs to get a closet look at the children. They're probably a strange sight for the weasel to behold. Jackpot's used to sweaty adults with money stacks in their pockets and expensive watches on their wrists. Not children in a neat suburban home.

Watching Mae with his kids seems almost sickeningly domestic. Felix has been on his own ever since he left his parents' Texan ranch when he was 16. Even when he was living with his family, they never offered Dino Nuggets and sweet nicknames. It's… odd to say the least.

He bristles when Mae makes a jab at his unfortunate incident earlier in the day. "Hey!" He barks, pointing at Mae. "That is the only time Jackpit has ever done anything like that! Jackpot don't eat those-" He then points at the weasel who had climbed on the table and sniffed one of the kid's food.

He could only help but snicker at the comment. "I just want the carpet to be clean, that's all," Damian shrugged. After he finished did he notice that Adonis had hunched shoulders and was hugging himself. "Here, let me with you Adonnie," He cooed. Picking up the kid, he sat down in the chair then made sure that his son was sitting comfortably on his lap. The kid sat facing the wall and away from the ferret. Damian patted Adonis on the back then finished eating the nugget he stole.

Mina held her red plastic fork with a dino nugget on it. She held over to the ferret. "Mina," She heard her dad call out. "You heard what Mister Herrera said. Don't feed the furry noodle your food, okay? Maybe next time when you have permission." She glanced up at the new guest, but this time, offered the dino nugget to him.

Damian laughed. "I should've introduced you guys first….Herrera, meet Mina and Adonis. Mina and Adonis, meet Mister Herrera and his furry friend, Jackpot." The twins gave Herrera a small wave. "Do you want something to eat Herrera, or are you still full from the ice cream and Carmen's drama?"

"The goblin's happy to eat whatever you'll give him, I just don't want to have to perform CPR on a rodent again." Felix slightly shudders at the memory as he makes his way into the dining room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "Kids, performing CPR on a ferret is much harder than it sounds." He raises an eyebrow when the child extends a nugget towards him. He smiles and shakes his head. "I'm good, darlin'."

It takes no time at all to place the names to the faces. Now that he knows their names, he's never going to forget them. Just another thing Felix picked up from his days playing poker against criminals and cheapskates. Learn the names of the bad ones and stay very far away from those tables. "You can call me Felix," He quickly inputs. He has no qualms against his last name, it's just awkward when kids use it and mispronounce it. You're supposed to roll the 'r's for god's sake.

"And thank you for reminding my why I'm here." Felix beams and snaps his fingers. He opens his trenchcoat with one arm, extending it all the way to showcase the interior of the jacket. To say the least, it's loaded with various, hideous ties and watches that are clearly not Felix's "Pick any tie you want." He waves his other arm in front of the ties. "Except the green one-" He points to a fluorescent green tie with bright yellow stripes. "That one's my favorite."

Mina nodded, "If you say so, Felix." Eating the nugget, she sat her fork down. "We have more anyways. It's okay." There was nothing else on her plate so she took her bat plushie and got off her seat. She turned to look up at Felix, then pointed over towards the kitchen. "The dino nuggies are there. Bye!"

Damian smiled, giving his daughter a little wave, watching her scurry off to her room. His son went back to focusing on his food and stayed silent. It was only a few minutes later till he finished his food then did the same as Mina. After getting down, he gave Herrera a wave then ran off.

"Oh boy…." Damian frowned. All the ties, including Herrera's favorite, are ugly to him. Whether it be out of prejudice or what, they all are, but oh my God, they all look funny to him. What's even more funny is the fact that Herrera has a trench coat full of them. Covering his mouth the back of his hand, he looked at some of them. "I get to pick one?" He asked. "Oh you are too kind. How about that red one there?"

Mina and Adonis remind Felix of his own nephews. Except the triplets (Andre, Ishmael and Diego) like to assault Felix with their grubby five-year-old fists whenever they see him. At least Mae's kids seem somewhat civilized.

Felix can't help but laugh at Mae's reaction to his extensive tie collection. It's… different than his ones from earlier, one without the arrogant and malicious bite to it. "The red one?" He repeats, raising an eyebrow and pulling it from the pocket it's half-dangling from. "You see, this one I received from my sister. It was April Fool's day and she thought she was being funny by sending me this monstrosity." Felix folds the bright red tie decorated in various penny-sized clowns all the way out, holding it taught and straight armed in front of him. His trench coat falls shut, the watches slightly clanking against each other from within.

"My sister wasn't aware that I collect these fashionable accessories and you could probably imagine her face when I showed up to her twenty-first birthday wearing it." His nose scrunches fondly at the memory.

Damian leaned back, tilting his head to the left to hear the soft murmurs of his kids. It's only been an hour and half since they had a nap; it's odd for them to be so calm and relaxed after dinner, but he doesn't mind. On the other hand, he is not sure whether they are planning an ambush or talking while playing or coloring. A gamble as usual.

Focusing back on the ties, a laugh freely rose from the bottom of his throat; he couldn't help himself with that one. He went back to covering his mouth the back of his hand as Herrera spoke. Now, his attention is mainly fixated on the guy wearing a trench coat and has a gazillion ties and watches. Half of the words Herrera was using flew over his head. With squinted eyes, he stared at the clowns on it for a minute.

"I can only assume how she reacted," He chuckled. Making himself stop, he shut his eyes for a moment as he exhaled. "You know…" Damian gestured to the tie then the poker player. "I took inspiration to pick that one from a very special someone."

Out of the corner of his eye, Felix watches as Jackpot scuttles down a hallway, no doubt following the children. He doesn't say anything, Jackpot is mostly harmless. The only harm the weasel ever does is steal watches and caprisun wrappers and car keys.

"Ana was furious that I showed up without an invite, yes. And also the fact that I showed all of her 'cool adult friends' her pictures from her emo phase." Felix snorts at the memory. Ana's reaction was one Felix will never forget, even though it was four years prior. He had never seen his younger sister so red-faced and had never heard such a long string of curses come from her mouth. "A special someone?" Felix's attention is immediately back on the other man. He raises an eyebrow and twirls the tie around in his hand. "I figure you don't mean me, Damian." He laughs at his own jab.

Giggles rose from Mina's room. Damian could hear Adonis ask, "What are you doing here, Jackpot?" The question was then proceeded with Mina following up with, "Wanna wear a bow, Jackpot? I got this green one you might like…."

Damian was not sure whether his mood was so light because of the kids or because of Herrera's ridiculous ties and stories. "You?" He scoffed. "Oh no. No no no no. Well- I mean, I am assuming you are the only man in the entire world that walks around with an interesting selection of ties." Crossing his arms, he sat forward to get a better look at the tie. With a tilt of his chin, he gazed up at Herrera. "So, are you planning to kill me with that or what? You should have figured that an investigator such as myself is good at guessing plots. You shouldn't have given me the details of your show." He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Whatta rookie mistake."

"I am the most charming man in Nevada," Felix states, his tone light yet factual, as if he was reciting some trivia piece instead of wildly inflating his own ego. "I'll be damned if you've ever met a man more lovable than me." He stares down at Mae with a cocky smile and gleaming eyes. "Oh?" His head tilts slightly. "Thanks for reminding me, doll, I nearly forgot I was supposed to kill you for spoiling La Playa Dorada del Atardecer." He laughs and rolls the tie up. "I hope you choke on this and die." As he's reaching towards Mae, a clanking noise causes Felix to look down. One of his stolen watches had fallen out of his coat. He quirks an eyebrow and reaches down, plucking the watch from the ground. He's about to put the accessory back in his coat when an engraved name catches his attention.

C. Valentine

"What?" He whispers, playful demeanor vanished.

Damian rolled his eyes at all of that. "Sure…." He knew Herrera wasn't being serious about this, but he added, "Look I am not into that kind of play, but at least take me to dinner first."

His mood switched the instant he saw Herrera's expression. "Hmm?" Standing up from the chair, his knees cracked softly as he stepped forward and yanked the watch out of Herrera's hand. Inspecting it closely, his eyes widened.

Taking a glsnce over his shoulder, he heard the kids laughing while talking to furry noddle. Like clockwork, he got the stereo playing some Korean rock and turned the volume up. He stepped closer to Herrera and whispered, "Let me be frank and say, why the fuck do you have this? What is the watch of a dead woman doing in my house? Is this all a joke to you, Herrera?"

Felix closes his eyes and takes a long breath. It's nearly humorous, how fast the teasing energy in the air had plummeted into this one-wrong-move atmosphere. Knowing he can't lie his way out of this one (not that he would in the first place), Felix puts on his best poker face and stills his thrumming heart. "I don't know," he answers, dropping his voice as well. There's no need to let the children know there's something wrong. "I only steal from people I play against," he narrows his eyes and leans away from Mae. "I've never played with Valentine in my life."

He snatches the watch back from Mae and studies the craftmanship. Maybe he could recognize who he might've snagged it from… But Felix has stolen thousands of watches in his life, and a good third of those times Jackpot has done it for him. "I know what the woman looks like," he says, eyes still trained on the silver watch. "And I can tell you, she's never set foot at one of my tables."

How the living hell Crystal's watch ended up with Herrera, he does not know. In this case, anything he gets on, he's jumping right on top of it; whatever it is, even if it's just a watch.

Damian was not sure to completely trust Herrera on this; he's only known the guy for a couple of hours now. On the other hand, based off of the history he checked, the words lined up with it. He even called Crystal's mother asking if she knew Herrera and recalled the woman saying no. Yet it was strange, why the hell does he have her watch?

"Alright…." He reluctantly sighed. "So you're saying you don't know why you have this because you never met her and you never stole from her." Resting his left hand on his hip, he used the other to run through his hair. "But who would steal it then slip it into your coat? It has to be someone you played with before. Someone who knows your habits and mannerisms. It could be the murderer for all we know…"

"Someone could've slipped me it, I could've stolen it off of someone who had it from her, hell, Jackpot might've found her when we were unknowingly in the same area," Felix lists the possibilities, his lips pressing together in a thin line. "It would've had to be recent though," He says, opening his coat to look at the collection. "All of these have been from the past two weeks."

Felix racks his mind for anybody he could've snagged the watch from. He had played well over forty games with dozens of different people throughout the past two weeks. A few names come to mind, ones that he remembers pickpocketing from. His eyes light up and his posture straightens. "Do you have a notepad?"

"The past two weeks…." He repeated. There could be a boat load of people who had the watch then somehow got it into his coat. Whoever did it surely knows about Herrera to some degree of knowing he steals watches or of the rodent taking them from people. The list will be short, but even he cannot put names down really; the only person who can is Herrera himself.

One thing for sure though, whoever it is could be the murderer too or maybe they have some ties with the culprit. Either or makes sense to him. "Notepad?" Damian nodded then rushed over to his work backpack by the door. Zipping it open, he pulled one out then sat it on the table. Then with a click of a pen, he handed it over to Herrera.

Felix twirls the pen in his hand before beginning to jot down the numerous names he remembered from his games the past two weeks. He doesn't speak, trying his hardest to hold onto the thoughts before they'd slip away.

By the time he's done, there are sixteen names listed. Some of them are solely last names, others a given name and last initial. There are a few that are full names, and one of them screams at Felix from its place in the center of the list.

Braxton Dane

"Dane," Felix says with a snap of his fingers. "Dane, I played with a Dane today." He recalls the old man that sat next to him, the one that held himself with an air of power and authority. He never spoke, but his eyes said everything he needed to. Dane didn't give anything away to Felix. Whoever Dane was, he'd been in the game for a long time. Felix sure as hell would've remembered if he'd encountered the man in seat number two before. It's safe to say that Braxton Dane and Felix's poker neighbor aren't the same man, but the coincidence is too rare to throw away. "Damian, they could be related."

Damian stood off to the side in order to not get in the way. Staring at the paper, he watched as names were written down. His eyes scanned each and every one of them, wondering who they all were and whether or not any of them have any connection to all of this. Both of his hands rested on his hips, like a stereotypical dad, as he leaned a bit forward to get a better read. He probably only knew about three of the people on this list at best.

"Shit…" He stands up, restless from being startled. Looking over at Herrera, his left brow quirks up. "Huh? Dane?" Looking over, his eyes landed on the name Braxton Dane; that's one of the guys Herrera played with today, right? What's he getting at here?

"They could be related?" Damian repeated. Running his fingers through his hair, he messed up his hair, but he focused on letting out a sigh. "What, does the guy have a brother or something? I wonder relation he would have with Crystal….How it all ties to this right now…"

Instead of answering, Felix pulls out his phone, inputting his 12-digit passcode before finding the first social media he can. He types "Braxton Dane" into the search bar, clicking on the first result that pops up. There's seventeen thousand followers to the name and the first few pictures are of a fairly attractive young man in various different settings. Felix finds the one dated a week back. It's in Vegas. "That's him."

Felix scrolls further back, abruptly stopping when he finds a large group picture of people that look similar to Braxton Dane. It's captioned "family reunion lol" followed by an ungodly amount of emojis. Standing in the back with a dead look on his face is the man Felix played with earlier that day. "Definitely related," Felix murmurs. "Dane could've swiped the watch from Crystal and given it to his… nephew I'm assuming. Or Dane could've had it and Braxton stole it, or Braxton could've taken it from Valentine somehow-" Felix gnaws on his bottom lip. "Or the watcha and the Danes couldn't be related at all."

Damian stood at Herrera's side. Not too close to nudge him but close enough to look at the phone screen. His eyes scanned everything that popped up. His left arm crossed over as his right index finger laid above his lip. A hum resonated in his throat as he looked at the guy in the picture. His attention fixated on the one in the back. "Maybe they could be in on it together. Dane could have something against her, or maybe Braxton once dated her and has something against Crystal. Maybe scroll farther back and see if there's anything."

He sighed. "Anything can happen if you let it. And in my job, you have to figure everything out before it does happen." Reaching over, he grabbed the notepad then held it up to read. "Because, if it wasn't me, someone would be pointing fingers at you and then the whole department will out of their way to make it a closed case. No justice, all bullshit…just like the rest." Taking a glance at the watch, the man shook his head. "I'll be done for if this case ends up like that."

Felix nods and scrolls a little farther back. As he swipes, he catches what Mae says. "It's a good thing you found the watch," Felix says quietly. "Otherwise I'd be in court again for another crime I didn't commit." He huffs through his nose. "Officers don't take too kindly to me." His eyes briefly narrow.

Felix reaches the bottom of the page. There's only one more picture of Braxton and his Uncle, dated two months prior. Braxton is beaming at the camera, a handsome smile, and his arm is raised to get a high angle. Dane is sitting at a quaint table across from him, the older man's gaze looking wistfully in the distance. He has a forkful of pasta half-raised to his open mouth with a watch on his wrist. Felix drops the phone onto table next to the abandoned pen and rustles through his coat. Once found, Felix holds Valentine's watch up to the picture. "It's the same one," he says quietly, trained eyes picking apart all the details. "But this was at least seven weeks before Valentine was killed. And Dane's wearing it, not Braxton." He sighs through his nose. "It's possible Braxton could've stolen it from Dane… But how did Dane get it in the first place?" He looks over to Mae.