"Vector always has to open his mouth to say something. Whenever money is involved, he's not interested in being rational. Rather, he'd do anything beyond bounds to get as much money as possible. I'm sorry, it's really...money's tight. I understand his greed, but he should appreciate your help as well." They reached the diner. "You don't even have to do this."
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"Just- wanted you to know I'm not expecting to be paid." It was the truth. Silver held the door open for Espio.
Silver walked inside of the diner, they grabbed a booth next to the window. They both placed their orders. Silver got the small salad with water.
"So, we checked the Casino and the partner wasn't there. That was really the only lead we had," he said with a somewhat worried tone.
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"We'll find him." Espio turned his mashed potatoes over with a fork. Is this what they call a steak? He eyed the miniature slice of meat on his platter, then looked over at Silver's plate. "Is that all you're going to eat?"
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Silver shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so." He looked down at his salad and ate a few bites, taking a sip of water afterwards to wash down the bad dressing.
He looked over at his plate. "That-looks pretty sad." He admitted out loud. He ate a few more bites of his salad.
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"I know," Espio half-laughed. "At least it's edible. I didn't expect much for a meal under five dollars."
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Silver chuckled lightly, "I didn't either the salad isn't bad. The dressing is a little strong though." He poked around the salad and tried to stab a small tomato that kept rolling around in the bowl.
He finally brought the fork down and the force sent tomato flying right past Espio's face and to the table behind him.
Silver's eyes went wide and he ducked slightly.
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He slowly turned his head to see if anybody was behind him. The was a man drinking a coffee with a stack of pancakes to the side. The tomato landed near his plate, but it seems he hadn't noticed. He turned back to Silver and joked, "Do you always play with your food like that?"
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Silver brought his head back up again and stared at the tomato. He let out a small sigh. Thank god, he thought.
"Not always," he said with a grin. He took another bite of his salad and periodically checked to see if the man had noticed the lone tomato next to him.
"God, imagine if that hit him, though." He let out a small laugh at the mental picture.
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"You just pretend like nothing happened." He cuts off a piece of meat. "But if he does protest, you apologise and move on. What extremes would someone go through for being hit with a cherry tomato?"
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"I have had people go after me for much less," he scraps up the last bit of remaining lettuce and dressing. Taking the last bite of his meal he put his fork down.
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"What do you mean?" He scooped up some mashed potato with his forkful of meat and ate it, looking at him intently.
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"Well, I have been confronted a couple times just by giving people a certain look." He shrugged, "It's not a huge deal, really."
He looked at Espio. He wondered what their next step would be but he enjoyed talking with his- friend. He smiled slightly at the thought of having a friend again, after her.
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He nodded silently and continued eating his food. He didn't want to rush, not that there was much on his plate either way, but he enjoyed the company of someone who wasn't in a rush or talking about the next potential money making plot-or who couldn't stop talking at all.
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Silver looked out the window drowned in thought about the living situation and the investigation.
The partner was not at the Casino. All they knew was that the victim was a dark green bat who smokes. There wasn't much detail to work with. He was content sitting in the diner. He looked back over to his friend.
"Do you think that-," he hesitated for a moment, "maybe Vivian isn't telling us everything?"
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"You take whatever the client gives you,...but why would she hold back on information? She seems like she really wants her father back. It wouldn't make sense..." He finished his meal, scraping off what little of the mashed potato and pool of steak sauce remained.
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Silver sipped his water and set the glass down. "I get that, but she didn't tell us a whole lot." He paused. "I just wished I could've-"
He stopped himself and shrugged off. "I don't know."
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"We're going to find him." Placing his plate aside, he called for the waitress to bring the check. He didn't want to think about him not actually being the father, or the fact that all of it could be a part of something monstrous. He didn't know. He didn't want to know. He just wanted to pay the check and get moving now.
The head outside after Espio left a 10 dollar bill to cover everything. He stretched and sighed.
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Silver walks outside with Espio and found himself doing the same thing. He felt pretty good about the salad lasting him for the rest of the day. He looks both ways down the street and then back to him.
"We could try surveying the Casino. See if anyone important is coming or going." He threw the idea out but he didn't know if Espio had a plan.
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"We could try that, but I don't want to spend too much time here in case he's ventured off elsewhere." He turned invisible and positioned himself where no one would care to pass.
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Silver nodded. Okay, he thought. Where am I going to hide? He looked around and spotted a concealed alleyway that had a firescape staircase that went on top of an apartment building close by.
If he could get up high he could track people easily. He could get a view of the Casino front door and a possible back exit. He started his way to the alley and climbed up on the stairs and made his way up. He could have just flew up, but he didn't want to draw attention.
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Espio waited, eyes fixated on the Casino entrance. He wasn't sure they'd find anything, but he didn't want to outright reject his idea.