He looked at the old man with mounting exasperation. This conversation was dragging on for what felt like weeks.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me," William said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. The man was old and likely hard of hearing after all. "How much of your quoted price is for fixing the titanium breastplate and how much of it is for the resizing ability? And, on the other hand, how much would you be willing to pay for this lump of titanium if I were interested in selling it instead?"