Chapter Text
-
"What should I call you again?"
The man whom he referred the question to pushed his glasses closer to his face, muttering, frowning. "What's it to you?" He scoffed, "you don't need to know my name as I do yours. I don't want to be involved in anything else besides this… gig."
Norton straightened his coat, and sighed. "You're pretty cold. Especially when we both share an acquaintance."
In a small, dimly lit room with all curtains drawn for maximum privacy, Norton sat on his comfortable, plush, and movable chair, while the mystery man sat on a plain wooden one opposite to him. While they were already as far apart as they could be, as the man Norton is speaking to had kicked the floor enough for there to be a noticeable gap between them both, a large mahogany desk still separated them from each other.
On the desk was a rotary dial phone and a handful of papers, some of which were electricity and rent bills for the room itself (those don't really matter at the moment), others were just plain junk that Norton had doodled on as the days went by of him not cleaning his own office and being bored out of his mind. Though, one of those papers contained a generous amount of information about the man he was currently facing, the plans in his head forming and rearranging itself ever so slightly as he thumbed the corners of the paper with his fingers. Norton rested his arms on the desk while trying to put on a smile, just for his audience of only one member.
He then proceeded to ignore the other man's quiet mumbling, most of which consisted of complaints such as "you don't know Aesop as much as I do, so don't speak of him like that…!" And "you are such an annoying businessman...!" Instead, he opted to skim through the paper once more. "I suppose all I really need to know is that you're one extremely lucky guy–" his eyes seemingly glinted at the words he read on white. "Hey, maybe that should be my nickname for you. Lucky Guy. That is, until Aesop comes and tells me your real name."
Lucky Guy (a terrible nickname, really, but what can he do? He was never one for naming things.) Raised his hand in reaction to Norton talking about Aesop Carl (he was some sort of musician, pianist, whatever, that Norton helped through connections and a wealthy sum of money. He has not yet repaid his debt, he remembers), pointing an accusatory finger towards him. "Don't you ever imply that my Aesop would be the one to reveal my identity to you, Norton Campbell!" His eye twitched out of annoyance, and his glasses slid down ever so slightly for the umpteenth time today.
"Hey, don't call me by my real name. I know it's my office," Norton gestured to his messy, dingy, manhole of an abode, pausing for a while and making a mental note that he may need to organize his papers sometime soon, and put away his many coats that collected on one of the abandoned chairs, and dust the shelves that had unread books and rusty trinkets, and– Ah. Maybe next time. He had plans to discuss. "... But even the walls in here have ears." He focused on Lucky Guy again, his eyes burning holes in the other.
"Mister Mole is a stupid code name." Lucky Guy toyed with his black gloves, choosing not to make eye contact with the man he supposedly despises.
Norton stood up from his chair that swivelled a bit from its owner's sudden movements, the man ignoring the insult against his very own chosen stage name (even though it's awful, he still had his pride to behold). "Well then! You know what to do now, yes?" He walked towards Lucky Guy, the floor creaking and the carpet brushing itself against the tall man's heavy boots, as he grabbed his shoulders with his hands that were dressed in golden claws.
Lucky Guy shivered at the feeling of cold metallic materials scratching at his thin shirt, but replied nonchalantly. "I just have to wait for you to arrive, and I just have to stay by your side the entire time." As he spoke, he was being pushed out of the door, the hands on his shoulders firm in their grip. "No funny business, no leaving you alone– God, I really am your babysitter, huh?"
"Good, good. Just remember the time and date now, I'll let Aesop know, just in case you plan on ditching me." Norton unclasped his hands on Lucky Guy's shoulders. He reached for something in his pocket while grabbing one of the other man's hands, "Here's for your commute back," and placed the little money he had on his person on Lucky Guy's palm. "Tell Aesop I said hi, and that he still owes me. Big time." He smiles, insincerely.
Lucky Guy gave him one last look, and lazily waved goodbye as he walked away from the door that Norton slammed so suddenly, the bell over the door ringing much more than it should.
Alright then.
The lone man glanced at his office, shifting ever so slightly towards the phone sitting on the desk.
The hand on the nape of his neck scratched at his skin and hair hesitatingly, the sharpness of his golden handwear fazing him a little. Oh yes, he was expecting a phone call from someone whom he considers to be more of a boss than a business partner at this hour of the day, though he would rather do God knows what than pick up the phone the moment it rings. Not that Norton hates the guy, really, not at all, but he can be quite overbearing at times, his exciting personality and voice filled with fervor bouncing all over the walls.
It would be especially tiring when Norton has his energy drained and battered by the stress of handling so many different clients of so many different personalities at a time. One moment, he would be spending his only free day of the week lazing around and spreading drool on his poor desk, then another, he would be surprisingly woken up by a yell and a childish grin, as if the person who had woken him up had purposely come to bother him physically; Taking the time to travel from his own office to Norton's, the blue feathers on his coat distractingly flaunting itself towards him, his eyes as bright and mischievous as ever, and his gloved hands carrying a large stack of papers that he decided he would deliver himself ("really now, why not ask Victor to do that? He loves his job, and he wouldn't even mind packaging it instead of leaving it naked like that." "I know, I know! I just wanted to annoy you. Don't you miss me?"). The many times Mike Morton had done that to him when he did not expect it left him feeling quite nervous for what new tricks the eccentric man had prepared for him this time.
Thankfully, it was only a phone call, so the possibility of Mike playfully scaring Norton again is low.
He grumbled, slowly making his way from the door back to his desk, his hand hovering over the phone's handle as he looked at the watch underneath his sleeves.
A few seconds had passed.
… And another.
Norton had his brow raised slightly now, silently criticizing Mike's consciousness (or lack thereof) of the time.
He was never one for tardiness, Norton had remembered when he was the one who had missed a deadline to deliver a certain product to a client, and Mike had made sure to never let him forget it until the end of time. So whatever Mike's excuse will be now, it better not be because he simply forgot, or that he was snoozing.
The phone rang. Ah, there it is.
Norton lazily grasped the phone with his hand. "..."
"... Um, are you there?"
"Am I– Are you there? God, Mike…" Norton's free hand went to grab parts of his hair, pulling ever so slightly. "You had me waiting for an eternity." As he raised his voice at the phone's receiver, the man on the other side of the line had been breathing heavily this whole time, as if he had just run a marathon before calling.
A pained yell came out of Mike in reaction to Norton's bickering. "You didn't even wait very long, so stop complaining!" He paused, the other hearing the crackling noises the phone made. "I was caught up in something. Had to shake 'em off my tail." His breathing had started to go back to normal, taking the time to rest his voice a few times.
His brows furrowed. "What?" He lowered his voice, his eyes darting towards the windows, weary. "What happened? Nobody snitched on us, did they?"
"I was going to ask you that, actually." Mike sighed on the other end. "With all those weird clients you've been getting, I was afraid something may eventually happen." His voice dripped into the phone, no energy surrounding it.
"That's impossible." Norton decided to worry about his plans first, and his friend later. They can always dine in together once they meet up, his treat. That is, if he stayed a free man. "I mean, I don't think any of those freaks are the type of people to do that. And even if they did, we haven't done anything yet. And most of all, they'd never believe in … all of that ." He sat down on his chair while clutching the phone tightly in his hand, the softness of the seat not comforting him one bit. "Were you asked any questions? Did they try to interrogate you? What is it, spit it out now." He became more agitated as he asked.
"Norton."
"... What?"
A giggle suddenly came out of the phone. "Believe in me, alright? I'm practically in charge of you, so you won't come across any trouble as long as I'm around." He paused. "Nothing major happened. I was asked about my profession, who I worked with, you know, the usual stuff."
Norton's leg started bouncing. "And?"
"I answered like an honest person."
"Hah!" Norton reclined on his seat, smiling, genuinely this time. He crossed his legs. "Hard to believe those words when it comes from you."
Mike whined. "Hey! I really did answer honestly. I was just a simple businessman with no one to rely on."
Norton clicked his tongue. "Are you implying something?"
"I may be implying that you never help when it comes to doing the dirty work, yes, but with that, at least they'll never know you existed. At least for a short while." The sound of papers being shuffled were heard. "Anyways, you can't rely on me and my bluffs today. They were really pressing me, and I had to make up an excuse just to get back here." A loud tapping noise was heard as well. "I'm going to ask you to do me a favor."
Despite the chill of today's weather, Norton had started to sweat, awaiting what was about to come out of his colleague's mouth. "... what is it?" His nervousness is obvious in his prolonged reply.
"I'm going to have to ask you to do it sooner than your desired timeframe."
"Are– are you crazy!?" Norton reprimanded himself in his mind for letting the volume of his voice go a bit louder than he liked, though continued anyways. "Sooner, like, today? The guy I hired already hates my guts, can you imagine if I phoned in and just asked him to come back tonight after he already left," he checked his watch with the hand he previously used to hold the phone to pull his sleeve again, the phone resting on his shoulder, "um… Twenty minutes ago?"
Mike hummed, not in understanding. "Now whose fault is that, hmm?" Instead, he mocked Norton's inability to get along with his chosen clients, one after the other always deeming him extremely difficult to deal with. He supposed that's how it usually is with businessmen, as Mike had a similar problem with his own clients. "Just to get those dogs– Damn them– Off my back, and possibly yours. You never know what type of information they might already have. Do it tonight to throw them off their tracks."
"Your cautiousness will be the death of me." He groaned in overexaggerated pain.
"Regardless of your complaints, I hope you'll still heed my warnings."
Norton had already stood up from his chair, his eyes slowly blinking his tiredness away. "Yeah, yeah. I got this." He picked up the paper with Lucky Guy's details written on it, eyeing it as he made his way around his desk. "I have to go chase after my client now. Drop the line."
As he heard Mike chuckle and the clacking of the phone against the handle, Norton did the same, but in a more frantic manner. He smoothened his coat for the thirteenth time today, walking towards the coat stand that stood beside the door. His treasured hat decorated with a golden lamp had sat on it this entire time, him grabbing it and wiping away the dust that had accumulated so quickly.
With one swift motion, he flipped the off switch of every light in his office, put on his hat, opened the door, and locked it as soon as he stepped outside.
As the city lights started to flicker on by itself due to the day coming to a close, the lights illuminated the few parked cars on the tiled road as well as the people in formal suits and dresses walking around in the streets, simply living life and looking through the nearest shops that displayed only the most eye-catching products (which reminded Norton, Lucky Guy must have looked absolutely naked while walking around the city. He didn't wear anything of importance, just a simple T-shirt with scribbles on the sleeves and whatnot). The other strangers who were near his office seemed to have noticed Norton coming out of the building, supposedly looking at his fancy get-up and considering him someone important enough to rudely stare at.
He paid them no mind, checking the door handle once more to see if he actually locked it instead of assuming he did. He checked twice, just to be sure.
… His pointy clawed fingers harshly made contact with the handle, a scratch or two visible on the already rusty metal.
After confirming his office's security, he then started to brisk walk, cursing absolutely everything with every step he took on the cold concrete floor, not paying attention to his relatively loud muttering and the poor civilians that were near him enough to listen to such profanities and give him the side-eye. His breath was visible in the cold air of the afternoon. He cursed that too. It was too damn cold. It shouldn't matter right now, though.
All that mattered is that he's got a client to catch up to.
-
Underneath the glow of the casino entrance's extravagant lights, there stood Norton, who had been waiting for his client to show up for about thirty minutes now.
He desperately scanned the face of each and every person who had passed by him as they all went inside, the sounds of slot machine levers being pulled, of people screaming in victory, as well as others taking in their losses, all easily heard from the outside. None of them were Lucky Guy, of course not, as they did not have his noticeable freckles and large glasses to accompany it. However, the people he saw did have the same sour face he always wore whenever he came to see Norton, possibly due to the businessman eyeing them for far too long than they would have liked. Not to mention that Norton was wearing a deep scowl across his face, which helped certain strangers in assuming the worst about him.
Just before he was about to call it quits, he heard his stage name being called upon by someone who ran up to him.
Catching his breath, Lucky Guy rested his hands on his knees, muttering a few "waits" , supposedly towards Norton. He looked a bit disheveled, most likely from all the running.
He then stood straight up, his gloved hands wiping a bit of sweat off of his forehead, head tilting in order to meet Norton's gaze.
"I… I'm really sorry." Surprisingly, Lucky Guy seemed genuinely apologetic towards the other man. "Something happened to Aesop– No, not to–" He tripped over his words as he went on trying to explain his situation, his hands frantically moving around in the air and his eyes blinking rapidly. "Something happened with Aesop, and I was worried, so– I was just–"
Norton just sighed in relief, "I understand."
Lucky Guy looked up at him with eyes akin to a kicked puppy.
Norton grimaced, his arm hooking around Lucky Guy's shoulder, urging him to walk with him. "Let's just go inside, yeah? The night is cold." His claws gripped on his shirt, though it was not tight, rather, he took extra care in making sure his grasp was not uncomfortable to an already agitated Lucky Guy.
As he successfully relaxed, Lucky Guy nodded to Norton and confidently marched into the casino doors, Norton following suit.
"I'm glad you didn't use my real name, by the way."
"Whatever, mister Mole. Let's just go…!"
-
Norton blankly sat in front of a slot machine with Lucky Guy standing behind him, his eyes watching the unmoving symbols on the reel.
That is, it is supposed to move once the person in front of the slot machine places a coin inside of the coin slot, though Norton still had his hand suspended in mid-air, the coin between his thumb and index finger frozen in place.
Truthfully, Norton was a bit nervous. It had been a while since he ever stepped foot in a boisterous casino, and it had been a while longer since he had actually betted on something.
As a successful and generally wealthy businessman with experience, he thought he'd be used to the thought of losing money by now, though that may not be the case this time.
Lucky Guy inched closer towards the slot machine, and looked at Norton's face. "Are you…?"
"Be quiet. I'm concentrating."
"If you're concentrating on becoming the world's most bejeweled statue, then congratulations." Lucky Guy gently pushed Norton out of the seat, with mostly just Norton forfeiting the spot himself, sighing in defeat. He rolled the casino coins over his palm, enraptured, before passing it over to Lucky Guy by dropping it over his two palms that were ready to catch the falling coins. "How much is this?"
"A hundred." Norton eyed the coins once more.
Lucky Guy closed his hands, his fists carrying the coins inside them. "You're pretty stingy." He then placed one coin inside the coin slot, his left palm carrying the other few coins. "Usually, people would start with a pail when it comes to slot machines." He placed his right hand on the lever, not yet pulling, but watching the reels spin as the symbols changed.
Norton watched closely, not at the slot machine itself, but at Lucky Guy, sweating profusely. "Just to test the waters."
Lucky Guy turned to face Norton as he pulled the lever. "Are you undermining my luck? I may as well turn it off… Just kidding. I can't actually do that. Please don't make that face at me. I'm sorry." He turned back to the slot machine, slightly embarrassed. "Oh… Two cherries." Fifteen coins rolled out of the payout tray.
"It's… Not bad, is it?" Norton hoped, eyes softening. He watched as Lucky Guy gently eased the other coins into his palm, catching it.
"... I guess so." Lucky Guy quickly placed two coins into the coin slot, pulling the lever just as fast. The reels displayed two golden horseshoes and an orange. Thirty coins slipped out of the tray, but instead of Lucky Guy quickly taking it all out again, he checked the casing that trapped the slot machine in place.
"What are you looking at?" Norton glanced as to where Lucky Guy focused on, bending down to get a closer look.
Lucky Guy gently slapped the side of the casing as if it was a horse, and he was the rider. "... Nothing. Rust, I guess." He placed the current casino coins he had in his pocket, then he brought the other coins from the tray to Norton. "I think it's rigged. Can we go to another slot machine? Preferably the newer ones."
Norton gently took the coins from Lucky Guy's palm to his own, "be my guest." He extended a hand out, to which Lucky Guy gladly took, smiling as he got off of the chair. Norton smiled back, walking with him through the never-ending rows of slot machines.
Lucky Guy then started to explain the tricks when it came to slot machines, Norton quietly listening and nodding along as they made their way through, sometimes watching other players placing their coins inside their own respective coin slots. Sometimes, when a player had passed out face down in front of a slot machine, Norton had discreetly looked through their wallets and had taken a measly twenty, fifty, something not too big for the owner to not notice. Lucky Guy made a face whenever he watched Norton do so, but continued speaking anyway as if nothing illegal happened right before his eyes.
As they finally went into the row of slot machines that Lucky Guy had wanted to go to, the man urged Norton to just "watch from a distance," already seating himself in front of one slot machine.
By the time the clock hit eleven, Lucky Guy had already emptied the pot of mostly all of the slot machines in most of the rows. Norton happily pushed the heavy cart full of pails around while Lucky Guy sat, pulled, and stood at a slot machine, his speed seemingly increasing throughout the night.
Staff had already started to watch them carefully, while Norton sometimes eavesdropped in their gossip. By the time Lucky Guy got his last Jackpot of the night, Norton grabbed his arm, whispered something in his ear, and slowly pushed their cart to the coin counter, with Lucky Guy nervously following suit.
"Alright, here's the plan." Norton spoke while he faced the person exchanging their coins into money. "We cash out, get out of here." The teller glanced at Norton, pausing their actions. Norton glanced at them back, his sharp eyes scaring the teller to continue exchanging their coins. "I'll call a cab, let's go to another casino."
Lucky Guy gasped. "Another…!? Isn't this one enough?" He looked at the many tables that decorated the scenery, some of them hot, while others only had the dealer silently shuffling the cards or throwing the dice, waiting. "We haven't gone through a single table here…" He pouted.
Norton patted his back, not really remorseful. His voice lowered in volume, only heard as a whisper. "People are watching." As the teller gave back their money in rolls, Norton pushed some over for Lucky Guy to hold. "Don't worry, this isn't the only fancy casino in town. Some even have free refreshments. And entertainment."
Norton walked to the casino exit with Lucky Guy following along, both of them ignoring the staff's offer for a free hotel suite just right beside the casino (with Norton rudely walking past and merely grunting as a response, and Lucky Guy quietly saying sorry for him to the staff member who plastered on a fake smile and a non-genuine "no problem." Norton hated those types of people).
As they exited the casino, they walked towards the nearest phone booth, Norton entered it and dialing up a number while Lucky Guy stood outside, whistling a tune or two, and hugging himself tight.
When the taxi cab came to pick them up, Norton entered the front passenger's seat and greeted the driver, while Lucky Guy sprawled himself on the backseat, taking a peaceful nap to gain some energy for the next casino. As Norton exhaled on the car window, drawing a cartoony four leaf clover on the moist glass, he thought to himself, tonight would be a long night.
-
Lucky Guy tapped the table twice. Hit.
The dealer slid a card towards him with his long, pointy, blade covered fingers (quite dangerous just for a simple dealer).
Nineteen.
Norton, despite his client showing promise all throughout the night, still felt tense as he watched the game. The other four players in the table glanced at him slightly, then shifted their focus back on their own cards.
He still didn't understand how a game of Black Jack worked. Sure, he did know that your hand mustn't exceed twenty one, but that was it. He did not know anything else other than that, and found it foreign to him when everyone went quiet, and simply used their hands in order to communicate to the dealer to hit (a simple tap or two of the table), or stay (a wave of the hand). In fact, the tension in his shoulders thickened due to the silence.
As he understood from watching, usually, players would stop asking for cards by the time their current cards reached any number close to twenty one. They didn't want to take the risk and exceed past it, Norton supposed, and understood.
… Except, this was Lucky Guy he was thinking of. All in the nickname, he knew he was lucky, though he wasn't sure if he was one to take such risks in a five player game such as this.
A tap was heard. Ah, he decided to risk it then.
Another card slid towards Lucky Guy.
A two.
Norton wasn't sure what happened next in the next few sequences of the game, just that Lucky Guy won, the dealer solemnly congratulating them both, chuckling. If he was smiling, it couldn't be seen due to the long and plain white mask that covered his face.
"Welp," Lucky Guy stood up from his chair, stretching his arms, "that was kind of easy." He turned towards Norton, anticipating something. "You wanna go to the roulette? Or a game of craps?"
"Crap?"
-
Norton was starting to feel really old. Or very young, depending on if you see a granny being assisted to cross the street by a fellow gentleman, or a kindergartner student learning with their teacher.
He looked at the cards laid down in front of him, the dealer waiting patiently for Norton to place a bet of any amount.
As Lucky Guy cleared each and every table by himself, he decided to ask– To pressure, actually– Norton to play just one quick session of In-between , supposedly something similar to Lucky Guy's favorite card game, Lucky Nine ("it's in the name, mister Mole." "You mean, the nickname I gave you." "I've come to terms with it." "More like attached– Ow. Hey!").
Lucky Guy told him to relax when he first made Norton sit down on the seat in front of the dealer, one of his gloved hands resting on the man's broad (and tense) shoulders.
In front of him was a two of hearts and a five of spades.
Three, four…
The possibility of Norton landing a number between a two and a five were very low.
Just as Norton was about to place a very low bet of one chip, Lucky Guy squeezed his shoulder. Agitated, the man looked up at him, clicking his tongue. "What is it now?" The wrinkles on his face seemed to have multiplied.
Lucky Guy looked at him seriously, his glasses reflecting the indoor casino lights. "Bet the whole pot."
Huh?
"No."
"Mister Mole, you barely have any chips as of now. Just do it." Lucky Guy furrowed his brows, eyes blinking slowly. "Trust me." His tone suddenly switched from one of annoyance to one of pleading, Norton not really giving in, but as he had no other choice, he did as he was told. The grip on Norton's shoulder became tighter, though Lucky Guy didn't look as if he was nervous at all.
The dealer slid the card out of the deck, placing it on the table in-between the two and the five.
A four of diamonds.
Norton sighed. Lucky Guy laughed, taking his grip off of Norton's shoulder.
-
After hopping from casino to casino, Norton and Lucky Guy decided that the one they were in right now will be the last one for the night. It was already near three in the morning, after all, and while Norton was already used to late nights, Lucky Guy was not. The nap from the taxi cab had helped a bit, but not enough for him to reach a few more hours.
Norton sat on the bar stool, watching Lucky Guy be handed a glass of iced tea with a lemon slice and a straw to accompany it, while he listened to the band that played gentle music for all the players to hear and be relaxed to.
That is, until the music started getting boring, so he turned his attention towards Lucky Guy. "Do you gamble often?"
Lucky Guy's eyes widened, caught off guard. "No, no! I don't, I just know a lot of the games they usually play in casinos." He played with his drink, stirring the straw to disturb the ice clinking the glass. "... Well, I do go, but only sometimes. Aesop said to gamble in moderation." Lucky Guy smiled as he mentioned Aesop, a hand covering a part of his face impulsively. "The other times, they won't let me in because of my baby face. Even with an ID and everything." He started to drink his iced tea, parched from playing so many games. "You should have some."
"No thanks, I'm good." Norton watched the liquid slowly go down in amount the more Lucky Guy drank from the glass. "You and Aesop seem very close."
"We are!" Lucky Guy smiled, the corners of his mouth threatening to reach his ears if he were any happier. "I… I wanted him to watch. To watch me play, I mean." The glow in his eyes faltered a bit, but he blinked it away. "I mean, I don't depend on support! It's just nice to have him around, is all." He focused on his drink again, ending his part of the conversation there.
"I get it." Norton glanced at him, then to the bartender who supposedly gave Lucky Guy the best iced tea in the world.
The bartender eyed Norton as she made her way towards him. "Can I getcha anything? It's on the house, y'know." Her black top hat tilted slightly from her movements.
Once Norton had confirmed for himself that his client was in good hands as he watched Lucky Guy happily drink his iced tea, he turned to face the fancily dressed bartender. "Yeah, no thanks," he smiled, "I've got him to usher out once we're done." He tilted his head towards Lucky Guy, the other having heard them talk about him and glancing their way.
"You two together?" She asked, her elbows resting on the counter. She seemed exhausted, though she still smiled at her current customers.
Norton smiled back. "If you mean together together, no." He glanced at Lucky Guy, seeing his grossed out expression. "Hey, that stings– Anyways, we're not. He's just accompanying me in here."
The bartender's eyes widened, though her grin stayed in place. "Him? Accompanying you? From all those games, I thought it was the other way around." She laughed heartily. It seemed as though she had come to spectate the games as well, her face only being one with the crowd until now.
Lucky Guy came to giggle as well, Norton sighing at the two of them as they came to make fun of him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. It is the other way around." As Norton covered his face from embarrassment, Lucky Guy inched closer to the two of them, handing over the empty glass towards the bartender.
"What are your names, boys?" She pushed herself off of the counter, grabbing the empty glass and carefully placing it in the sink behind the bar. She would clean it later and make more time for chit chat, Norton thought. There were hardly any customers to serve a glass to right now, anyways. She turned back around to face the two customers in front of her.
"Mister Mole wouldn't wanna tell you his real name. Neither would I, but he calls me Lucky Guy." he laughed a little, extending out a gloved hand for the bartender to shake. She took it happily, bouncing their hands together a few times. Lucky Guy seemed as if he was having the time of his life right now, Norton took note.
She brought a hand to her cheek, thinking. "I see, I see…" She paused for a while, humming. "Y'know, I've been thinking of a stage name for myself too." She looked at both of the men in front of her as they patiently waited for her response. "True Proof! What do you guys think, hm?" She folded her arms together and striked a passive pose, showing off her geniusness (and her formal suit).
Lucky Guy clapped in amazement. "It's really cool!"
Norton rested his head on his palm, grinning slightly, yawning. "It's alright."
True Proof stared at him as if she was about to bite him. "You sayin' it's not that good or something?" She tried to make her own eye twitch, acting as if she was mad. "Mister Mole isn't all that better." She earned a chuckle from the well dressed man, his clawed fingers covering his mouth a little.
"I suppose that makes the two of you." Norton heard a cough behind him, looking over to see who had interrupted their fun conversation with the interesting bartender, only to see a man dressed in musician's clothes, with a mask covering his face. "Ah… Aesop Carl."
"Aesop!" Lucky Guy slid out of the bar stool to greet and hug and kiss Aesop on the cheek, all at once. The man on the receiving end, while a bit overwhelmed from the sudden attention, paid it no mind. "I'm so happy you're here…!"
Another person seemingly down on their luck came to replace Lucky Guy when it came to his seat at the bar, Norton nodding at... True Proof, as she shifted her focus from mister Mole and Lucky Guy to this miserable, sad sack of a rando.
He bid goodbye to her as she did so back. "Come back next time, yeah? I'd love to chat again." She slightly raised her voice at the man, Norton raising a thumbs-up at her as he slid out of his own bar stool.
Norton joined Aesop and Lucky Guy in their happy reunion. "I didn't know you'd come." He hugged Aesop, ruffling his hair with his clawed hand in the process. Aesop just stood there, unmoving.
As Norton retreated from his hug, Aesop checked his bowtie to see if it was untangled. It was not. "... You called."
Just as Norton was about to deny it, Lucky Guy had raised a hand towards him, smiling. "I called him while you were in the bathroom," he then pointed towards the casino's indoor phone booths, the unoccupied telephones on the walls standing in a row, "just a little while ago."
Norton hummed. "I see."
"... Anyways, I've come to get him." Aesop spoke up, hands fiddling with his coat. "Would you like a ride home too…?"
Norton didn't even know Aesop could drive, let alone own a car. "I certainly would."
Arms locking around each other's, Aesop and Lucky Guy walked beside each other while Norton followed them, trailing a bit behind on purpose. They exited the casino, Lucky Guy still blabbering about his many victories and Jackpots of the night, while Aesop nodded along as they made their way to his car ("hey, this is in really good condition. Did miss Mary pitch in or something?" "... I saved up. She would never buy me something like this, even if I performed the most beautiful piece of the city.").
Unlike their seats in the taxi cabs, Lucky Guy had seated himself in the front passenger's seat this time, while Norton sat in the corner of the backseat, looking through the car window. Lucky Guy had still taken a nap though, same as always.
At four in the morning, Norton had accumulated much more money than he started off with. Of course, half of it will be shared to Lucky Guy, but he's just glad to have his plans work so well, especially when there was no guarantee that his client's fortune would even work out.
He chuckled to himself, his eyes glancing at Aesop, who looked at him through the front view mirror for a second or two, before he focused on the road again.
-
As they first arrived at Norton's home, Aesop told Norton not to go inside first. He waited for Aesop to come out of the small parking lot, the man checking on Lucky Guy's comfortability inside of the car.
Aesop lightly closed the car doors, Lucky Guy waking up a little from the noise, but then dozing off again afterwards, his head tilting to the side. He walked up to Norton, who was leaning against his apartment building's brick walls.
"So?" Norton started, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He pulled one out, resting it on his lips as he flicked on the lighter, the fire dancing on top of it. He pushed the pack to Aesop, to which the other shook his head to. Norton exhaled, smoke coming out of his nostrils, as he placed the pack inside his pocket again. "What is it?
"You need to be more careful." Aesop coughed, waving his hand around the smoke in order to dissipate it. "I was called in by someone today."
Norton raised a brow at Aesop's response, urging him to go on further. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. "Mind telling me who it is?"
Aesop slowly looked at the ground. "... I can't. Sorry." He looked back at Norton again, "All you need to know is that he works with the police."
"Dogs, the lot of them." Norton threw the cigarette butt on the ground, crushing it with the heel of his boot. "Anything else I need to know?" Smoke came out of his mouth as he spoke.
Aesop quietly hummed. "... He's a very intelligent man. You might cross paths with him soon, even if you try to avoid it."
"Thanks for the warning." Norton turned his back towards Aesop, "Goodnight. Hope me 'n Lucky will hang out more. Maybe you can join in, if you want." As he looked for his keys, he heard a small laugh from the man behind him.
"We will see you later, Norton." Aesop's footsteps slowly drifted farther away from him, the soft noise of his slacks making contact with the floor replaced by the car door opening, and the car engine starting up.
As Aesop and Lucky Guy drove away, Norton waved goodbye for a final time, assuming they were looking back, before unlocking the door to his apartment building.
The lobby looked just as abandoned as ever, with dust sitting on the desk counter and cobwebs decorating the walls and the dim lights. Well, at least the potted plants brought some life into the room. Nothing else of note, unfortunately.
As he stepped inside, he looked at his mailbox. He'll deal with the jammed letters and advertisement papers tomorrow morning.
He looked at the old and used up elevator. No service. Norton clicked his tongue as he finally noticed the stairs.
… He supposed a little leg exercise at four in the morning wouldn't hurt.
As he finally made his way to his apartment door, he instantly passed out the moment he made contact with his bed.
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