Day 53: Lunch

[buryyourdemons]

There was little to be said of the daily business that went on. He allowed himself to be shuffled, mind embedded too deeply in things he shouldn't be dwelling on. The night was over, the shadows had vanished, and there was little more than bad memories to be left in their stead. This was logic, pure and simple, and should have been reassuring but

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[thatdemonbitch]

Oooh, bargaining. Something she was familiar with -- place like this, it was downright reassuring to have him trying to level with her. Unfortunately, she had a lot less to offer here than other places. No information on seals, on Lilith, on Hell -- it didn't matter in a parallel dimension anyway, did it? There was on telling that this place even had an access pass to the Pit, especially if Dean had rolled up.

But no demon was left with zero chips on the board. And even if she wasn't sure how limited she'd be -- the fact that Harvey had pinpointed that one unsettled her a little, but she didn't let it show -- she knew it wouldn't be beyond the point of usefulness. Nothing was gonna put her beyond the point of usefulness as long as she still had the six hundred years' worth of work with a knife and a kid eager to provide one.

"Because, Harvey," she emphasized his name as she spoke in an almost catty way, as if she were holding it over him somehow that she'd gotten that much out of him. It was a success -- a small one, but it proved that he wasn't some kind of vault. "I take the honor code very seriously. You scratch my back and not only will I scratch yours, but I'll do what I can to make sure nothing else on you gets a scratch."

Demon informants, Ruby didn't hesitate to kill. Hell, most humans didn't matter either, but she was in short supply here and the fact that Harvey was obviously toting some serious experience wasn't going missed. She'd pay her dues in bodyguard duty if she had to. The guy obviously wasn't built for fighting, but she was. She'd been strung up and carved into an animal made to do just that.

"Believe it or not, I'm good at what I do. I've been doin it a long time. Place like this? You could use a girl like me on your team. But, I'm not expecting you to take my word for it, and I'm sure as hell not gonna sit here trying to convince you. Which is why all I'm saying is that when you come around, you can come around."

[unheroed]

While the way she'd used his name was enough to pluck at his nerves, he didn't so mind so long as she didn't start calling him Harv. That was somehow the thing that got to him the most, if only by association. Jason had done it, and that strange man in the library had done it. Basically, anyone who was from Gotham and he was uncertain about had done it. He didn't need some girl who had no idea of who he truly was using it too.

Even if she started to explain that she had a certain code that she followed when it came to working with people, Harvey still had to acknowledge that she could be lying through her teeth. The fact that she kept that cover of sarcasm and confidence up no matter what she was talking about meant that it was hard to tell if she was speaking lies or truths.

Granted, if she was lying, it would become clear rather quickly, and then he could just make sure to never associate with her again. The real question here was if it was worth the risk. Harvey knew that he had a shortage of allies, and Ruby seemed like the sort of person who would turn a blind eye to some of his less admirable qualities. That was what he'd liked about Jason, for instance. It was tiring having to watch himself when he was around someone like Jones, he had to admit.

He didn't need to come across as desperate, though, mainly because he wasn't. He'd made progress here; it just hadn't really gotten him anywhere. He'd seen and experienced plenty of things, but none of that had led him any closer to escape. That was the real problem, and that was what Ruby would eventually realize for herself.

"Fair enough," he said after a pause. "If you're so resourceful then I'm going to assume you've already got plans for tonight." So did he, but he could have invited her along to come with him and Jones -- though he wasn't sure what the other man would have thought of her. "Still, maybe another time." He wasn't going to say no to some extra help. For now, he'd wait and see just how long she lasted here.

[thatdemonbitch]

She knew concession when she saw it, and Harvey seemed to at least partially admit to himself that there was a good chance that she was right in making her claims about her own usefulness. Place like this, allies who could handle themselves were probably in short supply -- that much she could guess from the sheer number of kids running around. They couldn't all be Roxases. There was a smug air to her actions as she took a final bite of her pizza, dusting off her hands a little.

"All booked up," she confirmed, choosing not to clarify beyond that. Ruby wasn't exactly the type to go around showing all of her cards -- just the ones she needed to show to be taken seriously. Vague claims and curt assertions would get her much further, and there was no telling how information flowed in a place like this.

She stood up, grabbing her tray in a dismissive way that indicated she was putting an end to this conversation here and now, understandable considering there wasn't much they were gonna give each other until they were at less of a stand still. Her peace had been made, and it seemed he'd given all he was ready to. Time to mull it over and a chance for her to rack up favors were the next step, which meant she could dump her tray and get outta there.

"Be seein' ya, Big Guy."

There wasn't a question to it. They'd be back here again and when they were, she'd get something more out of him than a vague handwave and body language indicators as to how long he'd been there and how much he knew. That much, she was determined for.

[unheroed]

The fact that she withheld what she was doing with her night actually didn't bother Harvey as much as some of the other things that she'd said. He hadn't offered his own information about the coming night, after all, and he'd only asked if she had plans, not what they were. It seemed that she'd decided the conversation was over, though, which was just as well. He'd had enough of her for now, that was for sure.

Like Jason, it seemed that Ruby was better taken in small doses. It seemed odd that he was relating someone like her to that punk kid, but he didn't want to think too hard about it. He didn't really want to acknowledge that maybe Jason had filled a role that he'd taken for granted until he'd left.

He stood up from the table not long after Ruby, more than happy to be ending things. The shift also seemed to be tying up, so they were more or less on schedule.

He didn't know what the "Big Guy" thing was about, but all he did was nod to her and give a half-hearted wave as he scooted his way toward the Music Room.