Apple Street Agency Episode 5: This is vegas

Apple Street Agency Episode 5: Fiftyone for the win,Part 1: This is Vegas


Hotel Egypt(Luxor=Hotel Egypt here :P)

The dry arid sun was visibly shining brightly high atop the blue spotless skies of Las Vegas,Nevada. The glittering, luminescent streets of Vegas that ever so pervaded the minds of those that second handedly experienced the glamor of the world's greediest City;

whether it be through the intensely gripping stories of the big screen tragedies or through the words of local gambling jockeys who'd gotten their own share of pieces of the fight night and lost just as much as the pieces itself,
weren't there to greed those who were unlucky enough to visit their way down through the steamy heat hazes that filed every corners of the Pre-sundown Las Vegas...at least for the next six hours of the day to past.

Today, or to be more precise, in this particular time of day, the streets of Las Vegas was Especially silent. Call it the curse of the sun, heat of the day or the sting of the dry Sandy air. Whatever reason people labeled for the lack of four wheel drives on the streets, it was just the trick of the eye, nothing more, nothing less.

Whatever they Say, Las Vegas has always been a crowded place. The average population of the city including the tourists was always the same, Day through night, Night through Day. Today, had to be an especially hot day and hot days were favorable to the casinos as people would spend more time hanging around on the table agonizing over their losses or perhaps be ecstatic with the benefits they reaped off of the CMs or Casino Money.

But thankfully for the CMs or the Casino Managers. The Ratio of Win to Loss has always been constant. For every one successful winner there'd always be ten times as much losers giving away ten times as much as they'd donated for charity all their life.

In short, Vegas was lucrative business, folks lose with a grimace and the suits smile with a grin at the loss. This day had to be the same, except however, for the three unexpected 'Customers' that were thinking of paying a short visit to the City in the Middle of Nowhere.

***


The small cramped convenience store looked just like any other Convenience store Shirou'd seen in every corner of the globe he'd paid a visit to. Japan, Korea, China,The Arabs, England, Russia, Italy and Recently America. Each and Every one of them shared the same characteristics with 24 hour fast and neat convenience stores. A hundred to a hundred and fifty square meters of concrete Box with a big glass window in one side, stuffed with three to five stalls containing various standard snacks, Family pack Cheeto's were one, pack of six warm Cokes another, And various other local exotic goods. In America's case however, all of them were standard equipments and nothing seemed exotic.

So Shirou instead decided to leave the Snacks corner and go for the cold drinks. If there were no exotic stuff to begin with why bother with the snacks? Shirou grabbed three 500 ML plastic bottles of Coke Zero, one of the classic successful products from a classic successful American Franchise. The long trip from the Airport to Las Vegas was definitely exhausting.

The damn Taxi they took didn't have any Air conditioners too, turns out the driver forgot to exchange the Freon just in time. The job was supposed to be a strictly routine one at that in the region of Nevada. 'Rin had to call for the Taxi, not me' Shirou thought to himself grudgingly. By the time they realized the technical issues, the Taxi was already in the middle of Nowhere, heading for Vegas. Of course leaving the Taxi in that situation wouldn't have been a very remarkable thing to do.

Shaking the thoughts aside, Shirou decided to rush things as he saw Rin, her arms folded, glaring impatiently at him through the big window of the store, the sun was reflecting off the sweat forming around Rin's Neck and the sweats were glittering like diamonds, Shirou wasn't too sure if her smell was as cute as the bright looks though. Shirou put the bottles on the counter and took his time to adjust his G-shock watch to the local time as the store clerk quietly went on with the count. Well, at least he wasn't as tech-blind as Rin.

“That would be Eleven dollars.”
Shirou saw the pixels on his watch dancing around on toes and felt a slight pull behind his head as the brusque words from the counter hit his ears hard. Eleven dollars? The number seemed absurd.

“Eleven? Let me see the price tag.”
Shirou snatched one of the cokes to the annoyance of the clerk and skimmed through the bottle only to see that the price tag wasn't there. Shaking his head, Shirou immediately rushed to the freezer and checked the price, only to see the big 3.66$ sign beneath the Coke Zero corner. Shirou bit his lips and returned to the counter. The damned boy wasn't kidding, even the soft drinks weren't so soft on the money here in Vegas.

When he thought about changing the Item, a word from Rin flashed through his mind like lighting bolt: Sweet drinks with lowest calories, go figure. And that includes you and Saber as well

“Elven Dollar it is.”
Shirou forced his Grin, like all Japanese men do in situations like these, but the grin was too forced, it resembled more a grimace than an actual smile. Just Then one other important matter appeared on his head. And he was surprised to find the thing here, and not in a pharmacist's

“How much for the pill?”
Said Shirou as he pointed his shaking finger on the list of drugs behind the counter. The employee gave a short glance behind his neck and returned the gesture with evident apathy.

“That'd be thirty hundred and fifty dollar.”

***


“are things going well over there Rin?”
Saber asked Rin as she saw the serious facial expressions on Rin. She had her arms folded across her chest, and was leaning her back by a dark sleek Mercedes bentz oblivious of the possibility of creating a scratch on the overpriced piece of machinery. This didn't look like the usual Rin... Well the usual Rin gone Mad might better express her right now. Of course, Rin had every right to feel fucked up. Especially after being driven off of great Britain right after their return and it was a Royal fuck in the ass they were talking about here.

“That Atlas fucker.”
were the first words that came out of her dry lips

“...no I guess...”
Saber shied off from making anymore conversations with her master. She knew better than to bother an irritated Rin. Best She could do now was staying put until her grudges were washed off, which didn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

A bell chime from the door of the convenience store woke Saber up from the silence, Shirou was there with the package. Three cokes, all Zero.

“What took you so long?”
Rin was the first to ask, it had barely been three minutes and Rin was now over stretching the fact. It's true that they've been thirsty from the heat and that they still haven't met their said Agent but that shouldn't be a reason to be so rough at Shirou, And Rin has always been rough towards Shirou.

“Take it easy there Rin, What's important now is that we have the cokes. And uh...”
Shirou sighed

“That's a Mercedes you're leaning by Rin, and it seems custom made.”
Rin's face went pale without any change in her facial expression. Soon, Rin moved her body out from the car. Her Face flushing, half embarrassed, half frightened. Shirou chuckled, seeing the expression from his Wife was that precious.

“What's so funny about it?”
Rin immediately regained her composure and glared at Shirou with venom. Shirou however didn't seem to get the message.

“Nah, Just brings back old memories.”
Shirou forcibly stopped his laugh. She knew well that one scratched Mercedes would definitely lead to a total bankruptcy to their agency but that didn't keep her from doing what she did best. The recent event back in their agency turned out the other way though. The purple haired girl totally owned Rin in every aspect of the game. Down from the oral arguments to Authority. That must have been a fatal blow to Rin's impregnable sense of pride that had never been breached until now.

“How old?”
Rin asked, her eyes slowly narrowing enough to make a crease.

“THAT old.”

***


a day before in the base of Apple Street Agency

“DAMN YOU ATLAS BITCH!!!!!!”

Rin was extremely livid by what came out of the Atlas girl's mouth, which was definitely an acceptable response seeing the enormous effort and money they put over the expedition to retrieve EA. The money they managed to squeeze out from Luvia for this particular offer was enough to triple their debt towards their said sponsor. And it was all just for the one million pound sum they were yearning for. Sadly, it was all utterly crushed by a single word from this customer.

Unable to suppress her boiling anger, Rin tried jumping off her seat to land a square kick on Sion's face. The coffee on the table spilled, making a big mess out of her half a thousand dollar worth suit but she didn't care; for now, she wanted to beat the hell out of this bitch. Regretfully however, Shirou and Saber arrived just in time to restrain her from doing what they correctly figured, she was about to do. Meanwhile, ignoring the ruckus Sion took off her purple coat and beret then nonchalantly put her briefcase and laptop on the table; she was ready for some unfair business.

“Stop please!!! Rin!!! Let's talk this over with her first okay?”
Shirou let out a clamor as He struggled with all his might to keep Rin down on her seat. He always knew that an angry Rin was like a rampaging boar, Her Strength doubles and her eyes fill with killing intent. This time though, her strength was immeasurable and her eyes were several hundred times more dreadful than usual. Saber was tightly grabbing at her left arm with her armpit tightly wrapped around Rin's joint. But it was near ineffectual as Saber was afraid her power would make a big fracture on her master's arm, the strength she generated was near that of an elementary schoolgirl's.

“Let...Me...Go!!!!”
Rin was going berserk. Her legs were viciously swinging towards Sion but none of them managed to hit one at the girl.

“Rin, Shirou is right, at least we have to listen to what she wants to say. A hundred thousand pound is still a money we can't afford to lose!”
Sion's Lips bent to make a smirk. What Saber said was right, their agency was in no shape to refuse that or else they'll have to announce the 'B' word to the local bank. Overall Sion knew she had an absolute advantage in this argument.

“Fuck that!!! We have the law on our side!!! Let me call my Lawyer!!!! My fucking Lawyer !!!!!We have all the paper we need to clarify our rights to the money!!!”
Shirou and Saber felt a slight jolt on their head does that mean the money was theirs to win?

“Oh really?”
intervening in the ongoing conversation Sion opened her laptop and turned its power on. To the words she uttered Rin, Shirou and Saber suddenly stopped and turned their heads towards Sion. Her cold tone was saturated with evident aristocratic charisma. One that was beeming with confidence and far flung arrogance yet unimpeachable down the core. Shirou, Rin and Saber all instinctively felt that invisible sensation within her words, She was definitely one of the highest ranking Alchemist in the world and probably the most powerful of them all.

As if she had already expected the silence. Sion went on with her tick with the laptop. Soon in less than two minutes Sion seemed finished. She rolled the screen towards the trio and leisurely rested her back on her seat, Arms and legs folded, her face laden with authoritative look to it.

Losing words to say Rin Saber and Shirou limped their way to the screen. Shirou then scrolled the mouse to skim through the Images. Every single one of them gulped at what was being projected at the screen. Apparently the images were newspaper clips. The headlines and the articles said the rest.

(The Ruins of Babylon, mysterious explosion?

Scientists believe an inter dimensional link was forged within the ruins, causing the Temple to explode. However Eye witnesses claim seeing a golden ray of light shining down upon the temple, Leading many to believe that it was a divine intervention from God and some others, thinking an imminent Alien invasion is on the way. The us government claims it as one of the secret weapon of Mass destruction that's being developed in Iraq, The recent events in Russia seem to support the eyewitness' claim. But the current internal affairs of Iraq seem to contradict the claim made by the government, leading President Barrack Obama to decline the Parliament's call for immediate offensive action towards Iraq. Debates are still ongoing as to what caused the destruction of the temple,but many believe that the mystery will never be solved.)

Etc. Etc.

“...Fuck...”
Rin felt her hands trembling with fear as she read through the article, She recalled the number of Magus Association's laws she had violated. The existence of Second magic was being compromised. That alone was enough to send Rin, and everyone related to her ( including her relatives and friends back in japan) to Rot in M.A Jail for the rest of their life. She destroyed an ancient Ruin containing invaluable artifacts. Plus that and her relatives were all doomed to a death sentence. And There were various other 1st class crimes she committed. Even with Luvia's Backing she wasn't sure if her punishment would go below the 'execution' level

“But we still have the rights to the million pound.”
Shirou, not sure of the situation they were in kept on with the argument. Sion sighed, Shirou faintly heard Sion murmuring 'moron'. Shirou just bit his lips and restrained himself.

“You embezzled EA, even brought it back to england without declaring it. Once you file a lawsuit, the one that's going to end up Rotting in jail will be you not us.”
Shirou and Saber stood where they were. Stunned, completely taken by surprise. The moment they signed that document they were already falling down the path of losers. They were just being played the whole time.

“This...it's not fair.”
Now Rin was under threat of leading a nomadic life like their associate Tohko even then she wasn't sure if her relatives and friends will be safe. Why Sion was trying to offer this job to Tohko she finally understood. She imagined the number of freelancers Sion had to go through to reluctantly choose their Agency. Tens? Maybe hundreds? Rin was blinded with the prospect of big money and the authority of their Sponsor, The secretary of Clock Tower. that she signed that god damned paper. Rin dropped to the ground and felt tears starting to swell up her eyes. There was nothing she could do beyond that. Their agency...her friends, families, Shirou and Saber all were doomed. For the first time in her life Rin felt helpless, she was a loser, a hopeless failure.

“Yes, the contract itself was unfair.”
Sion suddenly rose up from her chair.

“But the one who made that contract wasn't trying to be unfair. It just happened that way.”
Rin wiped the tear building up in her eyes with her long sleeves and raised her head towards Sion

“I will give you another chance to atone for the mistakes you caused...with the rest of the money in line and your sins exempt from judgment.”
Sion put on her coat and her beret before heading her way towards the door. Then, just as she wrapped her hand around the door knob Sion Stopped for a moment and rolled her head towards the stupefied trio.

“Contact one of our agents in hotel Egypt, Las Vegas Nevada. The Ticket to the flight is in the briefcase, the hundred grand is stored your bank account, use them well.”
Then without further ado Sion left. The bell above the door was vigorously ringing, signaling the leave of this enigmatic customer.

For a few minutes all that was present within their office was silence. Somehow, this girl saved their ass from doom. Rin was the first to move from her position, then Shirou then Saber.

“...I can't believe she saved us.”
Rin blankly eyed at the door which was still swinging due to the wind outside. Sion had already left. Leaving them alone in this unheated, chilly room.

“Yeah...”
Saber replied with a sigh of relief as she leaned her back on the big screen window behind.

“Rin...the flight is just four hours away from now... George best to Heathrow then to America...six tickets... and it's economy class”
Saber and Rin immediately turned their head towards Shirou Who was already checking the content of the bag. There were nothing else inside the medium sized bag beside six airplane tickets, two for each which meant that they'll have to use one on a local flight to London and the other, for a flight from heathrow to America, there probably wasn't a single one way transport ticket available today. Rin felt a Rush of Adrenaline in her. She had to be quick...real quick...and well, she was angry.

“DAMN YOU ATLAS BITCH!!!!!!”

***


“If you say any word of her ever again I'll KILL YOU”
Rin Headlocked Shirou with all her might as he finished with the reminiscing. It was one of the techniques she observed while going into various close quarter melee fights with Luvia, so it's fair to say it was a very effective maneuver at self defense, even better when used against unsuspecting targets . Shirou was trying to be funny with completely debilitating results. The talk had remotely anything to do with Rin blushing anyway, and it was a very unpleasant way to start a conversation near his wife.

“Okay Okay!! Rin, I'm...*cough*...dying”
Shirou's face was turning blue and it's just been five seconds

“Rin Please!!! You're going to end up killing your husband for god's sake!”
Rin returned to her senses as threw those words at her. Rin immediately let go of her grip. Dropping Shirou on the ground just like that.

“Oh,I'm Sorry dear! Are you okay? I just...”

“*Cough* oh god, at least she saved our ASS from total destruction for crying out loud!!!!”
Another Headlock ensued this time even Stronger than the one before.

“Rin!!! please, Rin!!!!!restrain yourself!!”
Rin again released her grip, this was starting to get serious on Shirou's body of swords.

“Okay, so what's the plan now?”
Shirou dropped on the ground, his necks were flashing with red marks. All made by Rin's expert headlock. Embarrassed and feeling sorry for her beloved husband, Rin's face was blushing so instead of saying sorry, she immediately entered into briefing. Shirou was still coughing on the ground so he was unable to join in the ongoing conversation.

“Well...first we'll need to find a room for a Hotel, then we'll have to uhmm...try to find the Agent sion talked about.”
Rin turned to look around the scene that was open around her. The sun was starting to set on the horizon and the intermittent period of time between the afternoon and Night was starting to fill with glimmers of Neon light. The crowds were starting to pour out of the Casinos and Hotels little by little. Filling the streets of Las Vegas like the booming gold rush towns of California in the early 19th century.

The Glamor, the lights and the bling blings were starting to emerge from darkness. Vegas was transforming into it's true form. The Multitude of Luxurious hotels were also starting to join in the transformation. Just across the tiny little convenience store they were witnessing the grandeur stature of Hotel Egypt, It's magnificent Glass Pyramid Structure. And the Concentrated Beam of light shooting tens of kilometers high atop the sky from the very peak of the giant triangular edifice.

They were truly watching one grand Fairy world opening up before them. Vegas, a world where Money is won and Lost, a place where Depravity was encouraged, where All human pleasure was being concentrated in one place.

This is Las Vegas.