"Excursion. I'm planning an excursion," said Chilton, his sneer accompanying the returned rhetoric. "Despite your clearly prevalent belief, I am not always scheming my hours away."

Sometimes he enjoyed showing off his hours, for example, and basking in the warm glow and appraised self-image. Chilton dropped his shoulders, rolling his eyes upwards -- a visual that was lost behind his sunglasses. It was a minor loss, and one that bode little meaning within the grander context; Gideon was already familiar with Chilton's theatrics, and how often his showboating proved to be overcompensation for his insecurities.

"I began renting it once I received my promotion." Chilton glanced at Gideon, grinning broadly. His eyes lingered on the missing leg. "Did you never dabble in seafaring adventures, Abel? What with your lucrative surgical career, long ago as that was."