I mean... Arthas trying to talk me up to bringing half the damn Mirror Barge back--
[He holds up a hand to forestall argument.]
Which ain't ever happening, but then Cambridge all talking about how he was looking into doing some planetary-level business back in the day. Make it feel kind of small, don't it? Spending the whole deal on just one b-- young man.
No. And bear with me, because it's going to take me a minute to figure out why. But we'll start with- I've done things, right? I don't-
[He tries not to brag about this. He's sure Omar knows it, but doesn't necessarily know it.]
What I did with Bill Haydon conservatively speaking changed the balance of the Cold War. It might not have been planetary, but it was at least intercontinental.
[Omar has moved on -- at this point, not only from Brandon, but from the man he was when he was with him -- but the pain, he's already realized, is never going to completely disappear. Not completely. Ricki says that and the memory comes instantly to mind, with an echoing tug at his chest. The last smile, the last kiss; he closes his eyes for a moment to catch a glimpse of it behind his eyelids.
He takes another draw on his cigarette to ease the ache and lets his other hand go still on Ricki's leg, fingers wrapping loosely around the side of his ankle, as if he's anchoring himself there -- although when he opens his eyes, he glances away for a moment, feeling a little guilty to be so overtly reminiscing about the old love in front of the new.]
[He pauses to clarify, reaching down to draw his fingers along Omar's, a soft reassurance. That's the strange thing about this- he knows. He really does know, and he somehow doesn't feel frightened.]
[He says, which is perhaps terribly selfish, except it's not his only answer.]
Or whoever's helped you most, last. Maybe getting Arthas the hell out of here. Maybe Baltimore, on the whole, just to make things a little better, a little less wild. I think deals are things that when they land in your hands, you don't have to wonder.
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[He thinks he knows, but suspects it'll help to talk through it.]
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[He holds up a hand to forestall argument.]
Which ain't ever happening, but then Cambridge all talking about how he was looking into doing some planetary-level business back in the day. Make it feel kind of small, don't it? Spending the whole deal on just one b-- young man.
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[He says, right away.]
No. And bear with me, because it's going to take me a minute to figure out why. But we'll start with- I've done things, right? I don't-
[He tries not to brag about this. He's sure Omar knows it, but doesn't necessarily know it.]
What I did with Bill Haydon conservatively speaking changed the balance of the Cold War. It might not have been planetary, but it was at least intercontinental.
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Yeah, I get that, but...
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[He says, with a little shrug.]
If I can get my head on straight to stay as a warden, my deal will be for Irina.
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[He takes in a slow drag off his cigarette, leaning back to exhale the smoke towards the ceiling.]
Guess Stringer and Avon was my Haydon, right? Maybe not quite so world-changing as all that, but it surely did shake things up in Baltimore.
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Do it for love. There's nothing greater in the whole world.
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He takes another draw on his cigarette to ease the ache and lets his other hand go still on Ricki's leg, fingers wrapping loosely around the side of his ankle, as if he's anchoring himself there -- although when he opens his eyes, he glances away for a moment, feeling a little guilty to be so overtly reminiscing about the old love in front of the new.]
What if you had two?
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[He pauses to clarify, reaching down to draw his fingers along Omar's, a soft reassurance. That's the strange thing about this- he knows. He really does know, and he somehow doesn't feel frightened.]
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[He doesn't quite look at him, but he lifts his fingers to touch Ricki's as they graze against his.]
What'd the second one be for?
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[He says, which is perhaps terribly selfish, except it's not his only answer.]
Or whoever's helped you most, last. Maybe getting Arthas the hell out of here. Maybe Baltimore, on the whole, just to make things a little better, a little less wild. I think deals are things that when they land in your hands, you don't have to wonder.