Snippet #2822278

Hugo had just been contemplating his prospects for the night when Liesl quite literally grabbed him by the hand and said, "Looks like your wish might come sooner than you thought." Hugo didn’t object to being pulled along out the doors, though he did manage to sputter out a dumb, ”What?” As they went.

Liesl didn’t have to explain. There were Ricardo and Adrien, duking it out. Over something stupid and inconsiquential, no doubt. "I always thought Adrien would be the one to make the first move,"

Hugo had to agree, Adrien was hot-headed and stupid. ”Guess Ricardo is just more of a romantic.” He delivered the line flatly, but internally he really thought it was hilarious. He thought he was just the funniest person in the room… Parking lot.

The running commentary between the two of them was cut rather short when Adrien pulled out a gun. Hugo wasn’t sure how concerned he should be, but it wasn’t pointing in his direction yet. ”Well… What is Adrien compensating for there?”

But Hughes cut all the fun short. Hugo really would have liked to see what Adrien was really capable of. "I'm glad I didn't place a bet," Hugo snorted and shook his head. Truly, they could have made some money there if they’d had time to start taking bets. Adrien might have even been proud of the enterprise. Alas, they’d never know.

”My money would have been on Ricardo. My father always bet on the wild card.” And now he’s dead. Maybe Hugo shouldn’t try to follow in his footsteps after all.

"Looks like I'll be spending my night alone… Unless you wanted some company?” The sultry expression on Liesl’s face was truly enough to get any hot-blooded man’s heart racing. Truly, she was a temptress for the ages. Hugo smiled at her, charming, bright; no trace of the man who would use her up and send her out without a moment’s hesitation.

”You know there’s always room for you in my bed.” Straight to the point- there was no use beating around the bush, after all. They both knew what they wanted and what they’d get out of this.

Then John Waldmann was there, getting right in the middle of their business. "Not how I would choose to end a night of festivities but the wealthy and powerful sure know how to spice up a party." Hugo smiled politely, but had to fight to keep from rolling his eyes as John turned to talk to Liesl. He shot a bright grin at John when he smiled at him, looking every bit like he was thrilled that John was there. Never show your cards.

"No, man. I was just trying to make friendly conversation with one of the few faces I know. My intentions are pure," Ben nodded. He believed Roman. It was just surprisingly common, and while he didn’t want to get into the scores of weird messages he’d received since the amputation, he did feel almost like he owed the man some sort of explanation, but Mrs. Picket began speaking before he got the chance, so it was destined to remain a mystery.

Ben frowned at the speech. It was very strange, and he was glad to have a nice stiff drink to accompany it. Ben was taken a little off guard by Roman clinking his glass against his own, but smiled a little at the gesture regardless. He nodded in understanding as Roman said he had to get going, citing a dog to return to. Ben couldn’t imagine living in a van with a dog, but to each his own. "I'll catch you and that sexy nub tomorrow."

Ben nodded, pure and complete stoicism on his face. ”Of course. I expect to see you first thing, I’ll save you a table, scrounge up some candles, even.” He smiled, and passed his empty glass off to a waiter before grabbing a champagne flute- he didn’t know if it had gone untouched or just unfinished, but he didn’t care- and downing it’s contents before heading to see if he’d won anything he’d bid on.

And of course it was the watch. He stared at it for a long moment, turning it over in his hand, opening it to look at the face. What the hell was he going to do with a damn pocket watch? He pocketed the thing and decided to go home to do a little more drinking. Couldn’t hurt, he only had to be awake at 4:30 the next morning.

He did take a longer route home, passing by the river on his way. He pulled the watch out of his pocket then, staring out at the water as he turned it in his good hand. A large part of him wanted to throw it into the water. Some small unknown something, buried deep down, wouldn’t let him. Instead he went home, had a few beers, and sat quietly on the floor. He’d created a lonely life for himself, full of isolation and anger. These moments of self-awareness weren’t something he liked, but he would bet real money that Dr. Fines would tell him it was a step towards doing something about it or… Something. He didn’t care.

He let his head loll back against the wall, staring straight up at the ceiling. He should have stayed home. Going to that auction was a mistake. He looked down and picked up the pocket watch from it’s spot on the ground between his legs. Panic filled his heart as he activated the mechanism to open the face- it was broken. He knew it was broken. He could see that it was broken. But he swore he could hear it.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tic-

He threw the thing across the room. He was losing it, or he’d had too much to drink. He’d… He’d go to sleep, maybe visit Fines in the morning if he wasn’t feeling better. Yeah. That was a good idea.