Drink to Remember Vol. I

"Gee, kiddo. You've really gone buckwild now that your supply of red string and pins isn't limited by your L-BuX allowance, huh?"

Bishop heaved a sigh, the weighty impact of the exhalation empowered by nigh-constant proximity to Dimi. "This is important, D.A.D." He was always careful to pronounce their name properly, one letter at a time.

"How so? From where I'm standing, you're just looking for an excuse to stay *high-strung.* Everyone needs hobbies, but now that L Corp.'s gone and you've run out of conspiracy to theorize about, you should consider getting a new one. Maybe stamp collecting? It'd be pretty easy here, what with all the books..."

It was a testament to his incredible willpower and perseverance, Bishop thought, that he didn't flip his desk over and start raving at D.A.D. right then and there. Instead, his eye merely twitched before he pinched the bridge of his nose and bowed his head with enough theatrical intensity that D.A.D. should've noticed and taken the hint even from where they were leaning against the doorframe. "After everything that we've seen, with the Blue Reverberation's little ensemble and all this nonsense about 'the Perfect Book' and the way the Director's new best pal in the whole wide world is so obviously hiding something I have to wonder if all the clues pointing to it are some kind of insane double bluff, how can you say that I've 'run out of conspiracy to theorize about?!'"

"So you admit you're a conspiracy theorist."

"Shut it."

"Or should I say INspiracy theorist, given that you never leave your little PI novel if you can help it?" Before Bishop could fumble for a witty counterattack, D.A.D. gave their own sigh, its magnitude and power far surpassing that of Bishop's with just a fraction of the volume. "Even if you're right, and it's all connected... what are you going to do about it? What are *we* going to do about it, from where we're reading?"

They let the silence hang, waiting for Bishop's response, but he could only grind his teeth.

"Riddle me this, great detective. When was the last time you got... higher-quality artificial light?" They tapped the flickering lightbulb atop the bare lamp. "Holy moley, this is bleak. Did you make the lighting this bad on purpose? You're going to need glasses before you're thirty at this rate, junior."

"...the atmosphere helps me concentrate." Bishop shrank in on himself as soon as soon as he let those words escape.

"Riiiiiiiight." D.A.D. ambled across the cramped office and peered down at where Bishop had sketched the known members of the Blue Reverberation's posse. "Huh. You're a decent artist when you put your mind to it."

"Sketching pictures of suspects based off of witness accounts is an important skill in District 14. N Corp. is strict about their taboo."

"Forget being a detective, you could've made bank as a painter or something! That would've saved you the trouble of getting on Manager X's Wild Ride with the rest of us." Perking up, D.A.D. snapped their fingers. "Oh, speaking of- wait. Ahem." They struck a pose and set their face in a stony, impassive glare before snapping their fingers again. Bishop snorted, holding back a laugh. "Had to get it right. Anyways, I managed to scrounge up some flasks of the *real* stuff that some of the Night Awls must've dropped before they got booked. It's been way too long since any of us drank actual liquor; there's something weird about the alcohol in Netz's bar shelf."

Memories of drinking too much wine from the Floor of Art and tasting love poems that he scrawled over important notes sprang unbidden to Bishop's mind. "You're right about that... but I'll have to pass."

"Dimi won't be there."

Bishop froze in place in the middle of turning his swively chair away from D.A.D.

"Look, as much as I've gotten on your case, or lack thereof in this instance, I know half the reason why you've been cooped up in here is that you're avoiding her. Honestly, I can't blame you, she can be a menace... although you could find some common ground with her if you tried."

While Bishop's attempt at imitating Angela's signature glare was less heart-stopping than D.A.D.'s, it got the point across nonetheless.

"Okay, okay! I'll stow the lecture. For now. You can't avoid heading down to the baggage claim forever, young man." Thankfully, D.A.D. only tut-tutted for a moment. "It'll be a small thing. Just the four of us who were there the first week. Now that Talow's back from... wherever he was, I figured it'd be a good time for us to catch up."

"Was that a pun? 'Time?'"

D.A.D. blinked. "No?"

"Because, you know, Talow, and all the time loops, and the stuff going on with Hokma... and T Corp.'s Singularity, and-"

"Like I said, you need to unwind." They leaned down to ruffle Bishop's hair, but mercifully retreated before Bishop could swat their hand away.

"You said it'll be 'just the four of us.'"

"Yep."

Bishop scrutinized D.A.D. "...I know the game you're playing, and for the record, that's not why I'm going. You're right, I need some perspective. And fresh... ish... air would be nice."

"Whatever you say, kiddo."