Almost...any second now...
Katie casually pushes her way thru the crowd in the street and bumps into the man she's been eyeing rather roughly.
"Watch it!"
"Sorry my bad. Just trying to see."
"Yeah well try somewhere else."
Katie shrugs before turning around and stealthily weaving her way out of the crowd surrounding the crime scene. Once away from the crowd, she pulls the wallet from the front pocket of her white coat. She opens it and smiles triumphantly at her prize.
Sucker...
"Hey, that bitch stole my wallet!"
Crap!
Katie takes off just as the man dashes away from the crowd and after her. Katie races down an empty alley and hops the fence at the end. The man hops the same fence moments later. He is quickly closing the distance between them due to her petite form. It isn't long before the man grabs her and pins her to the brick wall in another alley.
"You little..."
Katie smiles nervously as she hands him his wallet back. She starts to move away but the man simply pushes her back.
"Look, I'm sorry. I won't do it again blah blah blah, you get the gist. So if you'll let me go, I've gotta get back home soon."
"Oh no girly. I don't like it when some punk steals from me. You've gotta pay for that."
Before Katie can respond, the man has a knife at her neck. She pales and holds her hands up in surrender.
"Whoa dude, I'm sorry. Just let me go. I'm only seventeen for crying out loud."
"Sorry kid, but you have this comin..."
"I'm just trying not to starve! Cut me some slack!"
"Don't care you little brat. Now hold still, this will hurt a little then you won't be feeling much of anything..."
Katie winces in anticipation as the man raises the knife, only to freeze in place. Katie looks at him in curiosity.
"Now, is that any way to treat a lady? Drop the knife."
The man drops the knife and Katie watches wide eyed in confusion.
"Good. But don't you think she deserves an apology? Apologize for your brutish behavior."
The man stares forward, his face expressionless.
"Sorry miss. I won't let it happen again."
"Now, go make yourself useful and jump off a bridge."
"Yes sir."
The man walks away and Katie is frozen in horror as she instantly recognizes the man standing before her. Her breath quickens as Jervis Tetch walks over to her.
"Are you alright miss...?"
"Katie...My names Katie."
Tetch examines a lock of her long white hair and frowns slightly in disappointment.
"All wrong...I suppose that is your name. Did that beast harm you?"
"No..no sir."
"That's excellent. May I ask why he was after you?"
Katie gulps and shakes slightly, the cold air not helping.
"I took his wallet."
"I see."
After a moment of silence Katie gets anxious.
"Um...Its getting late and I need to get home..."
Tetch smiles warmly and takes a step back.
"Then by all means..."
"Thank you."
With that Katie quickly walks away from him before dashing out of the alley, twords her 'home'.
By the time she reaches the house, the sun has set. She tosses her coat on the couch and hands over the other two wallets she had collected to her boyfriend sitting on the couch.
"Only two? What happened?"
"Got caught. Would've been three if the guy hadn't caught me."
Or pulled a knife.
"Well, it looks like another weeks worth of crap."
Katie smirks before sitting down next to him and resting her legs over his lap.
"But David, it isn't crap, it's food." She says in a teasing voice.
"I was a vegan before I met you. I'm starting to think you're a bad influence."
Katie frowns. "Well I'm sorry but you're the one who offed my..."
"Hey! You were begging for help. I only took care of her because you wanted to run off. I did what I had to after seeing you like that. It's good thing you didn't have any broken bones or else we'd be screwed."
Katie smiles slightly and moves to sit in his lap. "Sorry. Let's forget it. What did you get today?"
David smiles and pulls a gold pocketwatch out of his pocket.
"Got it from the pawn shop on fifth. Didn't even get caught."
Katie smiles and runs her hand thru his hair.
"Aww, my hero. Now we've got another month or two. So...how long before we gotta Pack up?"
"The newlyweds atento due back for another week. Quit being so damn paranoid."
Katie frowns and crosses her arms. "I just don't want to go to Blackgate."
"And as long as I'm around, you'll be safe. Trust me."
Katie relaxes slightly and rests her hands in her lap. "I do, but I haven't been doing this as long as you."
"Which is why you need to chill out, and enjoy the rest of the week."
Katie leans against Davids chest and smiles warmly. "I'm just stressed out today I guess."
David wraps his arm around Katie. "I love you so much."
"Bet I love you more."