InsaneJournal

Credit Squeeze
"What do you mean 'declined'?!?" Julie Sanchez demanded incredulously to the pimply faced cashier at her favorite coffee shop. She knew she didn't have huge sums of cash in her bank accounts, but she had enough to pay for a damn mocha ice and a chicken salad wrap! "I've got money in that account, it should be going through!"

"I'm sorry miss," the teenager replied, not sounding very sorry at all to the werewolf's ears and smelling like he hadn't showered in days to her sensitive nose. "It says 'card declined' -see?" He held up the credit card pad, which had the aforementioned words burning out of the display accusingly. and she restrained the urge to snatch the device out of his hands and throw it into the wall.

Julie huffed, frustrated, and pulled out her billfold from her purse to try and dig up enough cash to pay the bill. "I don't believe this," she muttered, face bright red from embarrassment.

"Here. Let me."

The voice came from just beyond Julie's right shoulder, and a wadded-up twenty dollar bill landed on the counter like a wounded bird. "Keep the change," Oliver said through a smile he didn't mean as he balanced his own large black coffee and roast beef sandwich. He had been at the opposite end of the counter getting his own order when the minor commotion took place, and his mouth was tight at the corners as the high school dropout behind the counter picked up his money and scuttled off.

"Having a day, are we?" he asked the werewolf archly, gesturing towards the table he'd intended to claim. "On second thought, you wouldn't mind eating outside, would you? I'm kind of expecting someone, and she doesn't like crowds. Besides, the people in here --" He jerked his head at the counter guy, who studiously avoided the spellcaster's attention "--leave a lot to be desired."



"It's one of those days," Julie responded to Oliver's ironic query.

Her face was still a particular shade of crimson due to the fact that she hadn't been able to buy her own meal. Julie was a proud woman, proud and stubborn in a lot of ways. She'd been brought up to pay her debts and not look for handouts, even when she'd been on the run she'd done everything she could not to have to accept charity. Even now she'd work extra shifts at the bar if she needed more cash, her credit card debt was zilch, zero, nada and she liked it that way.

What she wasn't sure about was why her debit card suddenly didn't work.

"It is lovely out, I think it would be nice to sit outside." Julie agreed, and picked up her drink and sandwich wrap. "I wouldn't want to intrude if you're meeting someone though."

"I don't actually know if she'll show up," Oliver replied. "She runs on her own schedule. But there's tables outside. Come on."

He carried his lunch outside, opening the door with an elbow and holding it so that Julie could pass by. He wondered if his babysitter was someplace nearby. The chair made a scraping sound on the concrete as he pulled it out with his foot, and he lowered his weight into it with a grunt. The sandwich he set aside while a drink of coffee was taken, and he picked up the sugar canister on the table to add some more to the steaming liquid.

"Their machine must be broken," he said in a dismissive tone. "It happens when idiots are running the place."

"I'm not sure about that..." A particular feeling of dread settled in her stomach and she set down her food on the table. "Have you been visited by Homeland Security about anything?"

He blinked at her over his cup, set the canister down. A narrow look settled over his face, and his mouth tightened again. "If you saw a guy wearing a tie with dolphins on it, I hope he still had wet pants from talking to me. I scared him so badly he had an accident."

He had thought at first that the man with the cheap tie had been sent to watch him as one of his mother's sick jokes, but remembering that his mother had no sense of humor put that to rest. He'd heard the man out, then sent him on his way with his tail firmly between his legs. Homeland fucking Security, watching him? Exactly what he needed. Now apparently Julie was having the same problem.

"Why?" he asked her, lifting his coffee cup to his mouth again. "Why you? I suppose in some alternate universe I could understand why they'd be monitoring my activities, even though their concerns aren't my concerns. But why are they bothering you?"

"I think they're going after everybody," Julie took a bite of her wrap and chewed for a moment, thinking about how to explain what had happened. Once her mouth was clear again she continued. "They paid me a visit and implied they wouldn't take no for an answer, saying I could be doing more, helping people never getting hurt from werewolves or other beasties. They're right, but I don't like their tactics. This is America! We shouldn't be intimidated and threatened by our own government."

The werewolf fumed as she took another bite of her wrap and washed it down with a sip of the drink. "Connor skipped town," she added unhappily. Understanding her boyfriend's motivations and being happy about it were two different things. "They spooked him so bad that he's gone to ground."

"Mm. I should imagine that quite a few denizens of Las Vegas are looking for holes to hide in," Oliver said, then twitched his shoulders inside his shirt. "I, however, conceal myself from no one. If they think I'm a menace from a distance, let them try me up close." The left corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk, and he raised his coffee cup in Julie's direction in a toast.

"Then again, I'm a son of a bitch. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone."

He paused long enough for a bite of sandwich, then queried, "What will you do? If it gets worse, I mean? Because when things turn to crap, it usually takes a while to get better."

"I don't know..." Julie was at a loss in that regard. "I know I'm not going to hide, I've had enough of that." She would have gone with Connor, had he been willing, but he hadn't and that had been that. Connor would either come back or he wouldn't and Julie would have to deal with things on her own.

"I don't have to worry about being fired, I don't think." She didn't know if Oliver knew of Jo's being a Slayer and wasn't going to out her boss and roommate if he was in the dark. Oliver had always been good to her but that didn't mean she necessarily trusted him with other people's lives. "So unless they somehow manage to close down the bar and kick us out of the apartment I should be good there."

The werewolf chewed thoughtfully on her wrap and shrugged. "I could call my folks and try to hire a lawyer, but how would I explain it? 'Mom, Dad, the government is being mean to me because I'm a werewolf.'" The sarcastic tone to her voice in the last bit indicated how well she thought that would play out.

Oliver snorted, but it was a muted noise. "Rebellion writ large, only for reasons no one can see. Someone should write a book about it."

He people-watched in silence for a minute, then occupied himself with looking fior his smokes and lighter. "If it gets very bad and there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask. I suppose my mother's got some clout in the right circles. If I threaten to make an appearance at her campaign office she might see fit to get a few of the dogs called off. No pun intended."

He kept his gaze averted as he spoke. Being nice to people, doing things for them, wasn't something that came naturally to him, and it usually only happened when they hadn't asked or didn't even look for his help. But he was capable of generosity when he felt like it, no matter how scattershot his efforts certainly seemed to the outside world. Fuck them for not understanding.

"If it won't put your stiff little neck too far out of whack to ask, that is."

"Oliver..." Julie was torn between hugging or throttling him. The man could be generous when the mood struck, a warm and caring person hidden under many layers of arrogance and cynicism that emerged only rarely. Oliver had never been mean to her, indeed had helped her several times in the past and they'd somehow bypassed each others defenses to be friendly acquaintances even if they couldn't quite call each other 'friend'.

"Thank you." she settled for letting her hand touch his and giving him a gentle smile. "I mean it, thank you. Right now I think this is something I have to try and fight on my own, stand on my own two feet rather than relying on someone else to do it for me, but if it gets to be too much I'll take you up on that offer. Promise."

He was about to tell her not to make a big deal of it, but something about the way she smiled at him made him stifle the words. His own mouth twitched into an almost mirroring expression, and then he lit the cigarette he'd found, looking at the flame of the lighter with too much concentration. Julie had never been anything but genuine with him, and as uncomfortable as he might be over it, he considered her almost a friend.

"You're welcome."

His coffee had cooled off out there on the table, and he took a good-sized gulp of it, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin. April was almost over. He wondered how long it would be before the suits went home.

Julie sipped on her mocha and wondered what had caused Oliver to make the offer. He had always been helpful with her, maybe because she'd always been friendly toward him, but the offer of help was unexpected. The werewolf gave a mental shrug, with Oliver who knew why he did the things he did?

"So aside from having the government intrude on your life, what else has been going on with you? You haven't had any more run ins with vampires have you?"

"No, no vampires," the spellcaster said with a headshake. "I make sure to stay well in the sunlight when I can." He folded his hands together on the table, looked at them in silence for a minute. Should he tell her? Could he tell her without her thinking he was a madman?

"I'm in love."

It was as though he were a child who had never uttered the words before, and it took him another minute to re-establish eye contact. She might not even believe him, but he was going to say it anyway. People had thought he was crazy before, they'd likely think it again. "With Hannah. I met her at my father's grave."

"With Hannah?" Julie couldn't quite believe her ears. She knew Hannah was stuck being some ghostly ferrywoman between this world and the afterlife, but Oliver's revelation threw her for a loop. For one thing they seemed completely incompatible even if she were still alive to pursue a real relationship. Hannah was all sweetness and light and carefree, where Oliver's external persona was the exact opposite.

The werewolf closed her mouth and continued to stare at the spellcaster as if he'd grown a second head. "I'm sorry Oliver, I don't mean to sound disbelieving...its just that you're both so different."

"We are, aren't we? That's what makes it so..." Oliver waved both hands around as though he were conducting an invisible orchestra. "Turns out there is love after death." He shrugged one shoulder, putting out his half-smoked cigarette in an ashtray he'd swiped from another table. "I think I'm more surprised than she is."

He looked across the table at the werewolf, adding, "I am...as happy as I'm capable of being, I suppose. And she's become the inspiration for the series of paintings I'm working on. Once this ridiculousness with Washington is over, I fully intend to have them shown publicly. I should very much like you to be there as well. Bring this Connor if you'd like. Have you known him long?"

"I thought you'd met him," Julie cocked her head quizzically, then dismissed the thought. "Anyway, I've known him for a little over a year. He's a coworker of mine, he's 'special' too, like us, but kind of paranoid." It wasn't the most charitable description of Connor, but she wasn't feeling very charitable toward her boyfriend at the moment. "We've been dating a few months," if you wanted to call it that. She liked Connor a great deal, but they'd have to have a long talk if and when the man returned.

"I'd love to see the paintings, I'm sure they're lovely." She remembered the sketch he'd shown her of Hannah, it had definitely done the young woman justice. It was such a waste that Hannah had been taken from them so young, she'd deserved to die an old old lady surrounded by great grandchildren.

"Have you ever thought of doing art professionally, Oliver? You've got real talent."

"Paranoid," Oliver mused. "Like me, you mean?" His tone indicated that he took no offense at the notion, and his spread his hands out as if he might do a small magic trick right there. "Everyone's a little paranoid if they're smart. The world can be...less than kind if you don't watch your back."

He squinted over his left shoulder, half-expecting to see Dolphin Tie lurking around behind a potted plant. Then he turned back towards Julie. "And yes, I've thought of taking up painting full-time again. I've thought of a great many things lately." He shoved hair off of his brow and raised his eyebrows at her. "Re-assessing, I suppose."

He took a large gulp of his rapidly-cooling coffee, set the cup down. "Have you ever considered art? From the subject's view, that is? I seem to be on quite the tear, creatively speaking. It'd be a shame to let it go to waste. Would you agree to sit for me at some point? I could compensate you for your time."

He paused, finished off his coffee. His eyebrows drew together very briefly, a sardonic expression crossing his face, before he added, "It'd be tasteful, I promise. Nothing to haunt you in case you decide to run for political office."

"Me?" Julie blinked. Her as an art subject? She'd taken some art classes in college, but nobody had ever approached her to be the subject of a painting, that had normally been left to the tall blondes in class. The werewolf felt her face heat up and hid her blush by looking down and taking a sip of her mocha. It was flattering to be asked, and Julie had no reason to say no.

She could trust Oliver, couldn't she? He'd never steered her wrong so far.

With that decided, Julie looked up and faced the spellcaster. "I'd be happy to, Oliver. And you don't need to pay me, it's flattering enough just to be asked."

"And seriously, me running for office? I'd have some explaining to do if I tried." She'd forever look in her very early twenties. The fact that she hadn't aged a day wasn't an issue yet but would be in a few years when she hit her thirties and still looked like a college coed.

"What did you have in mind?" She leaned forward, curious.

Oliver regarded her across the table. He'd always had an eye for color, despite his lack of actually doing anything artistic for a long time, and he pictured what it would look like in his head, drumming his fingers absently on the table near his coffee cup. On the street, a taxi blared its horn before voices were raised. The spellcaster ignored the racket entirely.

"Red," he said after a thoughtful silence. "Bright crimson red, possibly in a toga, like the Roman women wore on games day at the Coliseum. I have some pictures I can show you. Your coloring is much different than Hannah's, you'd need something to accentuate that." He was framing it already, picturing the werewolf standing out on the balcony of his hotel suite with the city behind her in sharp contrast. One of the benefits of living in Vegas and having lots of money to throw around when you felt like it, you could get just about anything delivered.

"I can't vouch for how long it will take. Could be as little as a few days, could be almost two weeks. Art is unpredictable. Do you have the time?"

"We can work around my schedule, assuming they don't find a way to shut the place down and put us all out of work," Julie commented with a shrug. "If that happens then I guess I've got plenty of time on my hands."

The werewolf had to admit to a little flutter of excitement at the idea of being an art subject, even if the artist was a complete unknown. What she'd seen of Oliver's sketches showed he had real talent, and Julie had been wanting to do something different anyway.

She'd been in a rut. Searchlight had been the perfect place to hide out from the world and recover after years of being on the run and then the final encounter with Brad, but maybe it was time to think about doing other things? What those would be she wasn't quite sure, but the recent encounter with Homeland Security made it clear things were going to change whether she wanted them to or not.

"When would you want to start? I work the lunch shift tomorrow, but otherwise I'm free. We could start after that if that wouldn't be too soon for you to do whatever you need to do on your end."

"I can make some arrangements tonight," Oliver said with a nod, already planning ahead. He'd speak to the Bellagio's concierge when he returned to the hotel and see who he might need to contact, then have dinner in his suite. Perhaps the day was not a complete loss after all.

"I can call you if something comes up. You're free to do the same, I'm almost always available. I'm looking forward to this. Its been a long time since I've felt this productive."

"I'm looking forward to it too," Julie grinned at him. "It's going to be something different, that's certain." The werewolf stood up from the table and pulled her purse over her shoulder. "Hopefully I can get the finances straightened out by then. I'll be damned if I'm going to knuckle under just because they make things a little difficult."

"Take care Oliver, and I'll see you tomorrow."