"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."
Felix sighs prolongedly from his nose as he narrows his eyes and rocks a little more on the balls of his feet. "So…" He puffs his cheeks out. "I guess I'm going in alone next time." As he says it, the reality kind of hits Felix right in the chest. Going in alone isn't any different to him than usual, but something about truly not having someone in the parking lot if anything went wrong is… unnerving. Not like Felix would ever actually voice that.
"I have more places around Vegas where I know we could be safe to talk. If none of those work, we can pick one of our places or even the LVPD building." Felix mentally tallies through his friends' residences and business offices throughout the area. Grace has her restaurant, Abel has their botany shop, Paisley with her law firm, Shea and Bianca's place and restaurant… He trusts them all to let him use a quiet place without the risk of eavesdropping.
Really he doesn't want to, but this is something out of his control. "Felix…." Damian sighed. "You've always have gone in alone….From now on, I'll just be somewhere else, waiting for you. You'll be fine." He will make sure of it. One way or another at least. The question is how. How will he go about this? How will he make sure that this case won't go cold? How will he keep control of the reins? How?
Damain shook his head. His frown persisted. A lot of places won't work. People have to be cleared, just as the place would be. "I don't think that'd be best. We can try my office though; that'd be the best option for us." He doesn't trust a lot there, but the risk is low. "You'll be fine," He repeated. "Okay?"
Hearing the repetition of reassurances coming from the once stone-cold detective does absolute wonders for Felix's ego. Chink in the armor, how he shoved a screwdriver right in there. "I will just fine, doll," Felix smiles without a hint of anxiety in his voice. "It's nothing I can't handle, I can assure you." He makes his way back to his car. Rhyda lays sprawled out in the backseat with Jackpot draped over her eyes like a blindfold.
"Same time next week?" He raises an eyebrow, hand already on the handle to the driver's seat. "I can guarantee that there'll be a crack in the case."
(And then do we want to skip to the next week or did you have anything else planned?)
(also! do you have a discord?)
With narrowing eyes, he stared at Herrera. He hoped that this won't stress the guy out more than need be. This all stressful, yet enough of it can be detrimental for himself and for the case. Sure Damian is worried about the case, but he is worried about how Herrera is and feels. That is something he finds to be equally important. Any rational detective would say so.
His mind had wandered off so quickly. By the time Herrera asked him a question, his eyes widened just as his lips thinned. Biting on his bottom lip, he gave a slight nod. "You'll know where to find me if you need anything," He assured. "And with spirit like that, I hope there will be."
(yeah we can skip to the next week!)
(also i dont have discord sorry ;( )
(swag! and rip aldkf)
Felix smiles and waves with two fingers. The car door slams as he gets into it; Rhyda barely moves from her backseat lounge. "Home!" Felix announces, cranking the radio and flipping a u-turn to head down the street.
–
A week later, Felix stands in front of his bathroom mirror, swiping a decent amount of product through his hair. Rhyda sits in the corner of their living room with a pair of headphones around her ears. She taps out a steady beat on a muffled set of electric drums. Accustomed to the noise, Felix hardly even notices it. He quickly sends a text off to Mae. The game is in half an hour, and Felix is one foot out the door. He waves goodbye to Rhyda, expectedly met with zero response.
The ride there is uneventful and filled with ballads from Britney Spears. He checks his phone one last time before he flashes his ID to the security guard.
It pretty much took almost a whole week for Damian to figure out a new plan. For the time being, he just went with his office at the LVPD and the Teo will reconvene after the game. Really he is out of options. With worrying about the case and two four year olds, his creativity was worn thin. It seemed like the only plan that made some sense to him. He did tell the chief so the old man would be aware, but also so that no one would be bothering them.
He paced around his office like he would on any other normal day. On his desk, his phone vibrated. Rushing over, he picked it up to take a look at the notification. Herrera. Damian both took a deep exhale then rolled his eyes. He just sent an OK then goes back to pacing around. Fun times for Detective Mae for sure.
After starting the engine and checking his reflection in the rear-view mirror, Felix dials Mae's number and sets it on speaker. They agreed it would be smart to only meet after in a location far from the bar. Less likely to get caught, less stress on Felix's shoulders. The past week he had been to his friends' concert in the back of the crowd and mostly pickpocketing men and women who got a little too close. He talked with his younger sister–his favorite sister– and bought Jackpot a brand new squeak toy. This week is good, Felix tells himself. This week is only going to get better.
"Damiaaaaaaaaaan-" Felix drawls when the detective finally picks up. They don't really need to talk… But y'know. Felix likes talking and loves people listening.
Once again, Damian had stopped thanks to his phone going off. Violently, it vibrated on top of his desk. It's loud, but it's better than ring tones in his opinion. He rolled his eyes as he dragged his feet over just to see the name "Herrera" across the phone screen.
Now what? His index finger hovered over the answer option. There is not much to weigh the pros and cons in the first place. Just like how there is not much time for him to do any of this. Out of the sake of his sanity and potentially Herrera's, he answered and put the call on speaker.
"What is it now?" He asked. "Don't tell me I have to be there or you're in trouble…"
"No, no, nothing like that, doll!" Felix is quick to answer as he pulls onto the horrendous traffic jam that is the Strip. Some sirens sound in the distance, but it's nothing out of the ordinary for a city like Las Vegas. "Just wanted to check in and ensure that we're meeting at the station afterwards." Felix entirely stops the car as he hits particularly terrible traffic. He checks all four of his current wristwatches. He doubts they would carry through road construction at this busy time of the year. Regardless, it's a good thing he left a little early.
The sirens are particularly loud. "Hey, uh, Damian. Do you know if there was a wreck on the Strip?" The cars inch forward. Felix shares a quick look with Jackpot.
"Okay." Damian ruffled his hair. At least Herrera's fine or maybe he shouldn't be assuming things too quickly. There has to be a point as to why he's calling him. The sirens blared from the phone speaker. His hand rested on his hip. "Yes….Yes we are meeting up in my office when the game is over," He answered. "Text me when you are on your way if possible."
It was a bit difficult to hear between the blaring sirens and Herrera's voice. "A wreck?" Just as he looked up from the desk, he watched as am officer rushed by his office. He could step outside and ask, but Google is always there for a semi-introvert who doesn't want to bother. "Huh….I guess there is one. I don't know how long it'll take for them to take care of it." He frowned. A car accident in Las Vegas traffic: the perfect combination. "This is perfect…"
"Unfortunate," Felix huffs, checking his watches and then his phone and then the car clock all to ensure the time. The car clock above his ABBA-blaring radio is two minutes off. It bothers him greatly. "I don't think Harima would appreciate me being late, but I doubt I'm the only one caught in this traffic."
A paramedic rushes by on the cleared lane to his right, the line of cars inches forward. When Felix leans over into the passenger seat, he catches sight of the incident far ahead. An expensive red car's entire left side is collapsed in, a second car nowhere in sight. A firefighter works at the driver-side door, some officers direct traffic to get it going smoothly. "Yeah, no, it doesn't look pretty–" Felix drives by just as they get the door off.
"Holy shit–" He whispers. "Damian, that was Clyde–one of the players."
Too many sounds. Too many for his brain to compute. It made his thoughts all mixed up. Damian just hummed. "It's Las Vegas. Harima needs to be aware of the traffic here," He laughed, mostly to himself. Chances are the other players will be late too. Well, most of them. It won't be the end of the world, but it could be a setback for them. Eh…Damn the factors that are out of his control.
Damian could hear another siren going. It's not a police or firetruck alarm. He could tell there were firetruck and police ones of course, but there's an ambulance too. Thankfully it came quickly. "Hmmm? Herrera, what is that?"
"What?" He picked up his phone and took speaker off. Pressing it against his ear, he asked, "Clyde? It's Clyde?" Really? Is it true? "Is she alive?"
It's true. Felix doesn't have to rubberneck to know that the woman being extracted from the driver's seat is the one he's played poker with. Her dark skin, her signature crimson headscarf, the startling red lipstick–without a doubt it's Miss Clyde from the fifth seat at the poker table. The paramedics take her slack body from the seat and onto a stretcher, wheeling her past Felix's sight.
"It's her alright–" Felix mutters in a low, low voice. "And I can't say for sure if she's alive or not." He clears his throat, not a hint of playfulness lacing his following tone. "There's no second car. She was in the right lane, but the driver's side was what was hit." He clicks the pieces together in his brain. The workers in his mind grab some model cars and arrange them on a small track. "Hit and run." He swallows the bile in his throat. "I think it was intentional."
Even with sirens and other sounds blaring into his ear, the silence was deafening. He needs to know every little detail that Herrera can see right now. Even if someone were to investigate this hit, they won't be able to get such details right away nor would they give any of it to Damian. It's not like he could go to Miss Clyde and interview her. We'll that is if she survives. He can only hope for reasons more than one.
A sticky note pad and pen laid next to his laptop. Clicking the pen, he started to write down little things about what Herrera was telling him. He remained silent afterwards, simply staring down at the sticky note. The last thing he wrote was the word "intentional." Resting the tip of the pennon using bottom lip, he whispered the word.
His eyes widened. "A new spot will open up. Someone is going to fill that spot up now….Well…" Damian bit the inside of his cheek. Now is not the best time to jump to conclusions. They are stuck in a fog. But still…"Someone inside must have had another do it for a certain reason. No one does a hit and run like that on the whim."
Felix, now past the scene of the accident, racks his brain for any sort of clue of how that could've happened–it's not like the suspect could've just bashed their car into Clyde's and sped away. No, not in Vegas traffic. He replays the scene in his mind, going through different scenarios of how the crime could've been committed. There's no doubt poor Clyde was targeted. First Valentine, then Clyde–
Felix's blood goes cold.
"Somebody's targeting the players." The scene plays once more in his mind. The side of the car wasn't dented nor crumpled from the outside, there was smoke from the inside, the accident had nearly entirely halted traffic. "Holy shit, I think it was an explosive."
