Chapter 1

Perfect Marks

Jack fidgeted slightly in the heat. His jacket was uncomfortable but the concealment it provided made it necessary. At least the sun had set; that had given him a little relief.

"Can we just pick someone already?" he heard Will mumble from his right while pretending to look at the magazines in a kiosk.

"I told you. It can't just be anyone. There's an art to it-" Jack stopped his low reply when he spotted a young couple walking toward them speaking animatedly to one another.

"You forgot it?! What do you mean you forgot it? Do you know how much-"

"I said I was sorry! It's not like we can't without it."

"No, but now it's going to be such a hassle to talk to people at home and I have no clue where to get more here!"

"Well, you wouldn't let me bring Pig."

"He's not exactly subtle or practical all the way from here, is he? Besides, this is not my fault. I'm not the one that forgot the fl... the stuff."

Perfect. They were bickering, totally unobservant of the world around them. Even better, they were British… tourists. And tourists often carry lots of cash. Yes, they would do nicely. The guy in the couple gave Jack some pause though. He was a few inches taller than himself and a solid 180 lbs as far as he could tell.

"He is a ginger though," Jack muttered to himself smiling. He'd never known a redhead who was good in fight. They were all shite in his experience.

The young woman was pretty, slight in build and dressed practically for the weather with her hair tied up in a messy bun that looked seconds from exploding. She was nearly a foot shorter than her companion and the guy was leaning over significantly to keep their loud whispers as private as possible; a position that would make it difficult to notice anything else around him.

"There," he said nudging Will. "Them. You grab her, pull her away from him, and I don't think he'll be much trouble."

Will nodded in acknowledgement and started walking. Jack waited a couple beats then followed. He watched as the couple, after a pause and some pointing, made a detour onto a side street. Will reached the corner pausing to plunge his hand into his pocket, and after a deep breath, fell in step behind them.

Jack rounded the corner after grabbing his blade just in time to see Will deftly latch onto the woman's arm and fling her away to the side. She stumbled but managed to catch herself on the wall to stop from falling. In that same moment Will placed himself between the redhead and the girl, brandishing the knife in her direction.

"We want your wallet, her purse, and any jewelry or electronics you have," said Jack coming up behind the guy, holding the knife out for full visual effect.

The couple looked at each other for a long second and Jack suddenly felt unnerved. Neither of them appeared fearful which usually meant things would get ugly. Jack was never particularly fond of stabbing people. But it's not like it was his fault. If people would just do what he said, no one ever needed to get hurt.

The woman pursed her lips grimly and let a short huff of air out through her nose. The man's eyes narrowed, and his upper lip twitched in the faintest of snarls as a significant amount of color worked its way up his collar.

"Now!" yelled Jack. With an annoyed look, the woman took her purse off her shoulder and flung it to the ground at Will's feet then placed her hands in her back pockets. For a second when the man stuck his hand in his pocket, Jack thought he was going to comply and hand over his wallet; but his hand remained tucked in, and he now looked at Jack with a slightly amused look on his face. The eyes were still narrowed but the snarl had somehow morphed into a smirk.

"Oi, I think you best be on your way. We don't want any trouble from you and I guarantee you, you don't want any trouble from us," the redhead said, stepping closer to Jack.

"Really? Your wallet worth getting stabbed over, then? You think you can take two blokes with knives?"

The man smiled and shook his head, "Me? Oh no, not me. Now her on the other hand," he said gesturing to the woman with his free hand, "Right nasty piece of work that one is."

Jack did not have but one confused second to comprehend what he was being told before he heard a feminine voice yell "Stupefy!" and everything went black.