Chapter 2: easy prey

Jada walked across the parking lot and darted into an alleyway. She was pulling out the contents of the wallet while she walked. To most Jada looked like an unassuming nice kid. She only stood 5ft 5in had red hair that she had color blocked with black streaks. Her face was slightly oval with large almond shaped eyes that were a deep sea green with small flecks of gold in them. She had small but full lips and a slight smear of freckles across her nose.

As she passed a dumpster she flicked the wallet carelessly into it. Maybe it was her slightly innocent look that let her get away with so much. She stuffed the money from the wallet in one of her pockets. Jada failed to notice the strangely dressed man watching her from across the street. The old man frowned pulled out a pipe and lit it. He blew a smoke circle but the frown remained on his face.

So this is what they give me to work with he thought as he watched her scramble up a fence. She grabbed a ladder above her head and climbed up, entering a decrepit building though the fire escape. The old man sighed and retraced the girl's steps. The park would be the perfect place to set up, since it was within her operating area. With out a backward glance he went to do his work.

Jada woke up around noon; she had been working all night long so she hadn't had much chance to sleep. Plus after the cluster of muggings she did she wanted to lay low for a few hours. She pulled a soda and candy bar out from underneath her mattress. She ate them while she counted her take. She stood up straightened her clothes and decided to go shopping. She left the building by using the stairs inside. Jada walked out on to the street heading for one of the many indoor swap meets in the city. Time for some five-finger discounts she thought.

She had an empty backpack flung over one shoulder. In one of her jacket pockets she had stuffed receipts. Ones that she had collected near this particular swap meet, so if caught she had a receipt. Jada walked into the swap meet with a group of people and nodded to the guard as she passed. The guard stupidly waved back, dumbass she thought as she passed him.

Jada was a runaway and an orphan, but she had been on the streets long enough to know how to survive. Her father was someone she had never known and her mom died giving birth to her. No one claimed her as a baby so she was placed into foster care. After an unsuccessful stint in several county homes she jumped ship at 14yrs. She lived on the mean streets of New York since then, scraping out a living as a hoodlum.

Over the years she had developed an impressive amount of fighting skills. One of the locals in china town had fed her when she was younger. Though he could never convince her to return to the system he had consented to teach her some martial arts. So she could survive he had said, though he frowned on her other activities. Least she wasn't whoreing; she would rather have been a hood than a whore. Less shit to deal with and the pimps learn to leave your ass alone.

Jada had taught herself to pickpockets, breaking and entering and later to mug. After she picked up the nines that was. In her last shopping spree she had picked up a set of throwing knives and a push knife. Those she wore all the time for emergencies under several layers of clothing. She picked up some clothes paid for the purchases while pocketing some others.

Mainly she was after summer clothes and had to have the sterno to cook. She left the swap meet five hours later her backpack filled with purchases. She stopped pulled the nines out of there hiding place in the bottom of the pack and tucked them back into her waist band. She headed towards home the sun was going down. She decided to cut through central park, it made a good shortcut.

Maybe she'd find an easy mark tonight she though wistfully. Jada strolled through the park in good spirits. Then she saw the strange old man, he was sitting on one of those stone benches. She flung her pack over her shoulders correctly, thinking this the wished for mark. She approached him trying to look innocent. Jada had that kind of open trusting look to her face. Usually it fooled most people until it was too late.

She drew one of her guns as she got really close to him and said "don't make a sound and I won't hurt you" the old man looked at her and smiled almost as if he were amused by her words.

"Just hand over your money and you won't get hurt" she said. He smiled at her again and handed her a small gray pouch. She frowned and dumped the contents of the pouch into one hand.

The world began to spin and it seemed as if the ground was rising beneath her feet or was she falling, she couldn't tell. Her vision swam and her stomach lurched. She blinked in the bright sunlight her vision still adjusting to the change. Sunlight how did that happen it was nighttime a minute ago. What the fuck did that old dude do to me?

She got up slowly, her knees weren't steady. Somehow she had ended up on her knees in grass. I was on pavement what the hell is going on she thought as she slowly looked around her. Jada blinked in confusion she should have been seeing the New York skyline but wasn't. She looked around her in disbelief, what did that old man do drug me, how long was I out? She was so busy searching for the missing skyline that she failed to notice the old man.

Humph humph, he coughed clearing his throat to get her attention. She turned towards the sound and stared about two feet from her was the old man she had tried to mug earlier. She stared at him in surprise, staring at the old guys clothes in disbelief. The old man was wearing basically to her eyes, a gray dress and a pointy hat. She started laughing no longer thinking about mugging the old guy.

The old man narrowed his eyes, what was she laughing at?

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" she gasped out between laughs.

"I'm Gandalf the gray" he answered slightly annoyed.

"Ok Gandalf, Merlin, whatever what's with the dress?"she said

"Dress?" he asked. confused surely she can't be referring to his robes.

"Yeah what's with that get up what'd you do escape from a ren fair?" she asked giggling slightly.

"Ren fair" he repeated. He was still confused. The terminology of her world was very strange

"My lady I was sent to retrieve you for an important task" he said

She snorted yeah right "my lady?" she repeated

She was looking at him like he wasn't normal.

"Are you referring to me?" she asked.

"Why of course who else would I be talking to?" he asked

"ok where is he, I know I've seen this episode" she said

"Episode, he?" said Gandalf. Now he was completely lost by her meaning.

"You know Rod Sterling" she said

"Who?"said Gandalf

"The guy from Twilight Zone!" she said. She was taken aback egawds everyone knew that.

"My lady there is only you and I on this road, I know of no one named sterling, now if you will just follow me" he said starting to walk.

"Uh No" she said stubbornly refusing to follow.