Hold-ups and Let-downs
{A/n:Thank you very much for the reviews, Archylas! I been splitting up my paragraphs on purpose in my format, but it seems people don't really like it, so I'm going to try doing it the right way for now, tell me what you think. I'm also glad the humor is apreciated as this wasn't originally going to be a funny fafic.}
_
"Is it to your liking sir?", the tailor asked merrily.
"Are you sure these are the most expensive clothes in your shop?" , the young man asked as he tapped the toe of his shoe on the floor.
"Oh yes sir, but I could raise the price if you like.", the shop keeper offered semi sarcasticly.
{This is so great!}, the tailor thought. This town was so small, he barely got any customers at all for his custom suits. Usually he only had business from funeral attendants, as that was usually the only reason anyone in this small town would need a suit. Not that he had been stupid enough to think he'd ever have a truly thriving business in this town, he had just inherited this job and this shop from his dad. He was mearly manning a post, but this was a true treat.
This kid had walked in off the street in trashy clothes, and asking for his most expensive of everything. He had almost thrown him out on the spot, until the kid had produced a stack of cash thick enough to choke on! So he had jumped into action, bringing the kid his best of everything; a pair of genuine black leather loafers, a genuine black silk suit and slacks, silk boxers, black silk socks, a black silk tie, a silk shirt, and gold cuff links. He wasn't really sure of the silk content of all the crap he had dressed the kid in, but the kid was definitly paying for silk! Luckily he kept this gawdy crap around just for the occasional shopper with more money than taste. There would be no top ramen for this tailor tonight!
The kid examined himself in the mirror for a long time, checking every angle. He didn't seem too sure. That could be bad.
"Keep in mind, young sir, that stuff as yet to be fitted."
"... Do girls like this look?" , he asked awkwardly, as he continued his self examination.
The tailor thought about that, this stuff wasn't exactly the kind of thing kids his age wore. Not even rich ones. But it had to be impressive in some circles, but he sincerly doubted the local girls around here would see such a gawdy outfit as attractive. It was like he was trying to look better than everyone around him, it came off as obnoxious. Still, he had to sell this on him somehow, his retirement fund depended on it!
"The ones that matter will love it, but you can't expect the commoners to have the same level of taste as the rest of us." he had no idea what he was saying, but he had seen a lot of rich people on tv and he guessed that was the way they talked. Judging by the way the kid looked, it didn't seem to have the desired effect. He was staring at his shoes.
"Do you have... cowboy boots? I think she likes those on people... ", he looked vexed. The tailor was vexed too, there went a couple hundred bucks out the window!
"Yes but are you sure? I have some nice-"
"Yes, black ones. And hurry up."
{Damn it all.}, the tailor thought to himself.
He helped the kid change his shoes, placing the loafers back in their place. The kid then slipped on the boots and rolled his pants over them.
"Do you really think that is better?" , the tailor asked, hoping for a chance to change his mind.
"They're fine, start tailoring.", the kid ordered.
_
After a couple more hours, LA walked out of the tailor's shop about two grand poorer. He looked himself over once, then started for his destination. But as he turned the corner he came across a couple of girls.
{What a perfect opportunity!}, He turned to the prettiest girl who looked about his age. He smirked and approached her.
"Hello chica." , he smiled, trying to look cool. He had only the vaguest idea of how to pick up girls after all.
"High there chico." , she smiled back at him. Success! His smile grew. He then walked right past her back on his way. The girl stared at him incredulously as he passed.
"What the hell was that!", she called back at him.
"I've got to go see Ellis." , he said, more to himself then to her.
Just then a brick hit him upside the head, and everything faded to black, for a moment.
"Where's his cash? Somebody dressed this fancy should have tons of it!", one of the girls digging in his pockets sputtered.
"... What do you think you're doing?", LA asked coldly, coming to.
"He's waking up, hit him with the brick again!"
LA, acting on reflex, jumped to the nearest rooftop before he could be laid out again.
"I should kill you for that.", LA growled as he fiddled with his bracelet. It took all of his self control to keep himself from slaughtering these girls. Ellis wouldn't approve, after all.
"He's like a monkey!", one of them yelled out, amused.
"Nobody blows me off, rich boy!", the one he had hit on shouted.
"Nobody gets between me and my Ellis.", he had had enough. Drawing his cutting line from its place, he leaped over the girls into the street. Turning back to them, he grinned as he whipped his line at them.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"GaHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", the two screamed as they were soaked with the cold water rushing at them from the severed hydrant. LA, deciding to take this chance while his antagonizers were distracted, quickly walked away. It only took a couple minutes for him to traverse the distance to the restaurant, but he stopped a block away so he could carefully scan the inside without being noticed. There were five customers he saw, and two waitresses. One of the two was Nadie, Ellis on the other hand was no where to be seen.
{What the heck!}, he thought as seached the windows again, his frustration starting to get to him. Was she cooking or something in back? Or was she out on break? He had to find out! So he ran around the back of the place and checked inside the small windows that were there but with no luck. He frowned, he couldn't be positive she wasn't in there without going in himself. And if she wasn't in there where the heck was she?
"Damn it.", he swore under his breath. He couldn't go in there without revealing himself to Nadia. But he didn't want to do that, he didn't want her to know he was alive until at least he had had a chance to meet with Ellis. But what was he supposed to do, wait? He had had enough waiting. LA ran around to the front, and, seeing his chance, walked in through the double doors.
_
Nadie struggled hard to keep a pleasant smile on her face, but inside she was raging like a volcano.
{How could he!}, she thought as she bussed the table.
Nadie was having a really bad day. Her boss had come by that morning and discovered the lock on the front door had been destroyed somehow. He had nearly fired them on the spot, but instead he had decided to not only revoke their night security payment but also force her and Ellis to replace the lock. That was probably fair but then he decided to fire them from their security jobs. That was the kicker, because that also meant Nadia and Ellis wouldn't be allowed to spend the night here anymore, meaning they would have to start paying for a hotel, easily tripling the time they would have to spend in this town.
{This sucks!}, she raged as she gathered up the dishes from the table and headed for the back. As she pushed through the swinging door she adressed her co-worker.
"Hey Rosa, can you handle everything out here while I wash these?", she asked, indicating the dishes she was carrying.
"Sure Nadie.", Rosa smiled pleasantly.
It was about this time that a certain over dressed young man decided to enter. Rosa was good at her job and spotted him right away. Due to his fancy suit, he looked like the type to tip exceptionally well. She praised her luck that a man like that would enter when Nadie was busy, and she wasted no time in approaching him.
"Welcome to amigo TACOS! How can I help you?", she asked, beaming her brightest smile. The young man smiled back.
"I'm looking for...", he paused. He hadn't really thought this part out. If he just asked for Ellis, no doubt this woman would mention it to Nadie, and she was sure to recognise his description. No, he needed to be tactfull.
"Yes?", she asked.
"I'm looking for a young white woman, a blond. She wanted ...", he paused, hoping she might jump in and fill in the blanks. The woman stared puzzled for a moment before snapping to a conclusion.
"Oh, do you mean Ellis? She went out to collect a new lock for the door at the locksmith's, wait you're not the locksmith are you?", she asked, looking him over suspiciously. He wasn't exactly dressed like one.
"No, it looks like I have the wrong place and the wrong person. Thanks for your help, though.", he gave her a coin as a tip.
"Oh, thank you, and no problem!", Rosa said happily as she moved to one of her tables. The man left and just as he did Nadie came out of the back.
"Thanks for covering Rosa.", she smiled.
"You got done pretty quick.", Rosa added wryly, insinuating she might have done a bad job. Nadie smiled sheepishly.
"I just did the cups, I can't really afford to miss out on tips right now... sorry.", Nadie apologized.
"Oh that's okay, I get it. Raymond might get angry again though.", Rosa warned.
"Well what else can he do to me?", she frowned. She still had no idea how someone broke that lock without her knowing. She couldn't really blame Raymond for thinking it was an inside job. Could it be she was getting rusty?, "Anything happen while I was gone?", Nadie asked as she began to clear another emptied table.
"Just some lost guy looking for Ellis."
"What!", Nadie exclaimed.
"Oh wait no, I just thought he was looking for Ellis. Turned out he was at the wrong restuarant or something.", she smiled, cluelessly."Is it a big deal if someone's looking for Ellis?", she asked, noticing Nadie's anxious expression.
"... Maybe, next time if anyone asks for Ellis make sure to tell me first, okay?", she asked pleasantly.
"Sure.", Rosa replied and moved on to one of her tables.
{It probably wouldn't be a big deal, though.}, Nadie thought. There just wasn't that much to worry about anymore. Bounty hunters who still thought Ellis was a target were allot rarer then you would think, and they hadn't seen another witch since Winay Marka, unless you count Blue Eyes. Things were just safer now it seemed.
Still, she wished Ellis would get back soon. That near break in or whatever it was this morning had her a little spooked. But Raymond had insisted Ellis be the one to handle getting the lock and keys made, not trusting her to do it.
The jackass.
_
"Hello, I'm looking for a pretty young blond girl-", the kid started.
"Aren't we all?", the locksmith joked as he started grinding a key to shape. The kid waited for him to let off the grinder before he reiterated.
"She was just in here I think, did you see her?", he asked. The locksmith sighed at that. He was getting a little sick of these kids, they had been in here all morning asking about Ellis. Ever since she had those keys commissioned this morning.
"Look kid, if you want a date just go ask someone out. Don't follow them around like a stalker.", at that he started grinding again.
He found this kid unsettling, with his strange way of talking and his fancy clothes. Also, he had actually met Ellis a couple of times now, at the restaurant and when she came in earlier that day, and he had gotten to like her, as a person. And he didn't really feel like sicking this strange kid on her.
The locksmith grinded for a really long time, but the kid didn't get the hint. He just waited patiently. He had to admire his determination at least. But he was getting dangerously close to ruining the key so he gave in.
"Alright kid, I know exactly who you're talking about. I know, because boys have been asking about her since she came to town, and around here since she came in this morning. But I'm not some horny kid directory, so buzz off!", he steamed. The kid was impassive, with a hard stare.
"... Ellis is my sister." the kid stated dryly.
"What?", the locksmith asked incredulously.
"Can't you see the family resemblance?", he said, leaning closer and pointing to his face.
"... Oh, I guess I do...", they did look kind of alike, and he knew her name. The locksmith did a mental face slap."Sorry about that, I mean, you never know right?"
"Whatever, do you know were she went?", he asked, annoyed.
"She said she was going to make a quick stop before going back to the restaurant. You know, Amigo-"
"Where was the 'quick stop' at?", he asked, cutting him off.
There was a long pause as the locksmith tried to remember.
"I don't know.", the locksmith answered honestly.
_
{A/n: I actually had to rewrite half this chapter, I went off on a really silly tangent at one point. Originally, Rosa was the girl LA had hit on and she had followed him back to the restaurant and I was going to have her conk him right before he got Ellis alone, but that felt way too 'cartoony'. I wonder if anyone enjoyed the 'tailor' section. It's my thought that LA's strange sense of style from the series has a pretty simple origin: that LA doesn't actually have one, he just buys the most expensive of everything in attempt to set himself apart from normal people. I mean why else would anyone dress up like Austin Powers for a desert mission? Am I right? Anyways thanks for reading, I'll update soon.}
