Taylor set the glass in front of Snake watching him slam the drink as soon as it was in his reach.

"What's got into you man?"

Snake glared at him. Taylor had a feeling he'd missed something obvious in the seconds before Plissken looked away.

"It's her birthday." Snake's voice was gravelly from too much booze and too many cigarettes.

Taylor looked out at the dancers wondering if Plissken knew one of them, an old flame that still hurt. It was possible given his past.

"She'd be 22 today." Plissken muttered over the cigarette he was lighting.

Taylor's mind was coming to terms with what his friend was talking about when he heard the deep sadness choking Plissken's words.

"You got to let it go. It's eating you from the inside. Let it go." Taylor was trying to be a comfort but when Plissken's one eye came up from the match Bill knew he should have kept his mouth shut. Plissken was etched in hate that burned right into Taylor's soul pinning him to that spot in the booth.

"You let it go."

Plissken's eye shot away and Taylor let out the breath he'd been holding. Bill knew Snake could lash out at any moment. The six months since they'd come home had been worse than walking on eggshells.

"Snake…" Taylor's words were cut short as Plissken's hand slammed down on the table. The whole booth jumped under the force including Taylor and his heart. Snake was on his feet and heading for the door. Bill knew to let him go. He needed to breathe as Plissken said. Bill knew only a fool went after an angry lion.

Sighing Taylor looked down at the table expecting to see the money for the drinks. Money wasn't what Plissken had left. There was a gold ring. The diamond glittered in the ugly neon. Taylor glanced up at the bar looking for Snake. He was gone. Tentatively he picked up the band. It was a beautiful ring by any standards but the inscription was what caught his eye. "My Russian Geisha". Bill instantly knew what this ring was.

Taylor felt a lump in his throat. Plissken had never said anything, not even to Bill. He realized why Plissken had died that moment in the hospital when he said Sophia hadn't made it. He understood the hours of tears Taylor and the doctors had mistaken for pain. It was pain alright but not from his wounds, or at least physical ones. A beat passed and Taylor heard the music Plissken had played on the Jukebox.

"Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, please..."

Bill recognized that Plissken wasn't pretending to be cold to isolate himself. He was cold, a dead shell of the man who went into that battle. Taylor glanced at the ring and cried. He couldn't say why. Maybe it was for himself or her or Snake. They just came.