A Work in Progress

Mob Boss Peggy
"Hm, lift your arms. You said that you use a sword ?"

Andy did as he was told. Mr. Greene seemed to have taken a hundred types of measurements already. He had been so distressed by the hero's manner of dress - jeans that were too loose, two gray sweaters and an ill-fitting shirt - that he had strongly suggested that Andy strip down to his boxers so that he could take proper measurements. He was truly surprised to see that there was a fit body underneath all that mess. The guy wanted replicas of all of his ugly clothes that were fireproof. That was probably not going to happen on Greene's watch.

"Yeah! It's a Korean jingum, it's real, too. Over a hundred and fifty years old."

"Mhm... Ever killed anybody with it?"

That was a weird question. Andy jumped a little as Mr. Greene measured his inseam. "N-no, of course not. We don't kill people."

"What if somebody threatened to kill one of your friends and the only way to save them was to kill the enemy?" The older man's tone was level and casual, curious and still friendly. Andy felt pretty comfortable talking to him.

"Then... I don't know, I guess we would have to do it. I would like to avoid that situation, though. I mean, obviously."

Lucius wrapped the tape measure around his shoulders and stood up, placing his hands on his hips with a little grin. "That'll do it! Want some tea? You've been standing there for quite a while."

"Uh... oh, crap!" On that thought, Andy rushed to his pile of clothes on the couch and dug out his phone. It was... 6:40. He had totally lost track of time. "No, no, sir, I'm running late. Sorry!" He replied, panicking a little as he shuffled through his clothes and starting tugging them on.

Lucius already put on the kettle. He was a big fan of a nice cuppa in the late evening. Jeopardy was coming on soon, too. "Hm? Late for a date?"

Andy, after fastening his belt, slipped on his t-shirt, which was gray and looked like it had been tie-dyed a slightly darker gray. It made Mr. Greene cringe. "Kind... Of..?"

"You're not going dressed like that, are you?"

Andy paused while he was putting on one of his sweaters. It was also gray. "Well, yeah. I guess so."

"Boy, you gon' scare that girl off, dressed like that. Did you even brush your hair today?"

Andy's shoulders sank. He was starting to feel pretty silly around about now. He didn't think he looked half bad. They were going to a cafe, not the Opera. Thankfully. He ran his fingers through his long, admittedly messy ponytail.

"Come on, young man, let me find you something better."

"N-no, that's fi--"

"It's on me, kid!" There was no refusing. Mr. Greene practically forced Andy deeper into his lavish apartment.

November 10, 2018