Chapter 3:
Jaleena sighed, lowering her book enough so that she could peer over the top to see Crake and Remy flirting with two girls across the street. She hated this part the worst: waiting. Waiting and watching them make fools of themselves. She rolled her eyes as Crake teasingly chased one of the girls around the other couple.
She had been "helping" with the jobs for about two weeks now. She had been at first shocked to see just how many sets of girls the guys went through in a single day, sometimes as few as three pairs, sometimes as many as eight. It resulted in a lot of profit, but Jaleena was losing more and more respect for the guys, who seemed to enjoy their "work" just a little too much. Remy was certainly getting fresh with his "date," and the blonde girl was far from unwilling. Leena blew out a disgusted breath as the girl leaned up to kiss Remy, whose hands slid slowly down her back to her bottom. The fact that his hand came up with a wad of bills from her back pocket didn't do much to sooth Leena's annoyance. She wasn't sure who she was more disgusted with—the boys for using such means to steal or the girls for being such easy targets.
When Remy glanced her way and winked—while he was kissing the girl—she snapped her book closed, and shoved it in her bag. At least this time she wouldn't have a hard time working up a temper when she approached them. She lifted her cup water and drained the glass before sitting back in her seat to glare at the couples, tapping her fingers on the table. Crake noticed and stopped chasing the girl, instead easily "catching her" in his arms. The girl giggled shrilly, apparently not disappointed to be caught, and he finally signaled Jaleena by reaching up to push the girl's hair behind her ear, at the same time palming whatever earring she was wearing.
"Finally," she muttered as she stood, tossed some coins on the café table (more than she thought worth it—they were working in a wealthier part of town), and grabbed her bag. She started across the street, beginning her screeching and name-calling half-way across. The girls looked up in surprise, for the first few moments not realizing she was yelling at the boys they were with. Once they did realize it, Jaleena's bag was hurtling through the air, very close to the face of the girl cuddling up to Crake. Jaleena tried not to grimace when he braced himself and lifted his hands to catch it. If the girl had been paying attention instead of diving for cover, it would have been rather obvious that he was expecting the attack.
When the girls continued to stand there, she turned her anger on them. It was rare, though not uncommon, for the girls to stand there gawking instead of running for cover. All it took was a few threats for them to take off as well.
As the girls rounded the corner in search of a safer haven, Leena sighed and put her hands on her hips. She turned back at the two men, still glaring. They laughed at her expression, and Crake tossed her bag back to her. Gritting her teeth, she spun around and started stalking off. They caught up with her easily, Crake suggesting, "We really ought to keep headin' up the hill. There will be easier pickings there. This girls were already more decked out than what we normally catch. The higher we go, the more rich ladies there are in need of some attention."
Jaleena rolled her eyes, still feeling annoyed with them. "Yeah, well, there's no point, Crake, as long as you're 'catching' whatever I throw at you rather than being hit by it."
Remy laughed at that, "She got you dere, mon ami. You really do look like you expectin' things to happen as soon as she starts screamin'."
Crake rubbed the back of his neck, turning a bit red. "Well, you try being on the receiving end for a change, Remy. It isn't a walk in the park, and her bag feels like it's filled with bowling balls!"
Remy shrugged. "I can do dat." He slid one arm around Leena, tugging her against him. He leaned his face close and gave her a slow wink. "I know you probably already feeling jealous, Leena. So I understand dat you might want to—"
She effectively cut him off by elbowing him hard in the stomach. "In your dreams, Le Beau." She hitched her bag up higher on her shoulder. "Whatever. I'll see you guys up there."
She turned the corner and headed off, wondering what she'd do to keep herself busy until it was time to meet up with them. She spent some time window shopping but didn't dare step foot into any of the shops. They were entirely out of her price range. The cost of one skirt in the shop would feed their entire family for the week, reminding her that she had been responsible for picking up groceries today. She continued wandering and finally spotted the guys at one of the popular tourist spots, lounging on a set of stairs and calling compliments out to the ladies who walked by. She rolled her eyes. She turned around and started walking down the street, knowing it wouldn't take long for them to catch some female attention with their rugged bad-boy looks. She didn't pay much attention as she walked down the street indulging just a bit by thinking closely about Remy's looks, so she was caught completely by surprise when a pair of rough hands grabbed her, pulled her deeper into an alleyway, and shoved her hard against the brick of the building.
Before she could scream, a brown, scaly hand pressed hard over the lower half of her face-effectively cutting off her ability to breathe.
"He'll let you go if you promise to be quiet." This came from a high-pitched female voice. Leena quickly nodded, and panicked when the hand wasn't immediately removed. When it was, she gasped for breath and stared with wide eyes at the two in front of her. The one who had grabbed her and still kept hold of one of her arms was a burly boy with a cap pulled low over his face, hiding most of it from view. The other was a petite girl with blonde hair with pink streaks. She was several inches shorter than Leena, and she brandished a small, sharp pocket knife.
When she noticed Leena looking at the knife, the girl laughed and playfully jabbed it in Leena's direction. "Not scared of this little thing, huh?" She laughed again. "Don't you worry. It's not for you anyway. It's to make a point."
Jaleena was confused, but she didn't say anything, only waited. The girl seemed a bit disappointed by her silence, but she shrugged and pulled a polariod picture from her back pocket and held it up in front of Leena's face. Her stomach tightened when she saw it was a picture of Crake, Remy, and the two girls from earlier that day. The girl lowered the picture when she saw the panic on Jaleena's face.
"Ahh…so you know you're caught, huh? Well, it's your lucky day that you seem to be new to the area. We'll be easy on you this time, right Woody?"
The boy just seemed to grunt and roughly shook her, causing her head to bounce off the bricks again. The girl seemed to find this amusing, so she laughed again, but it cut off quickly, and her eye narrowed as she stepped closer. "Let me be clear with you, girl. We don't want to see you or those two boys around here again unless you're sight seeing, you get me?" When Leena didn't respond and only stared at her with wide eyes, she leaned even closer, pointing the small knife at her. "Did you hear me?"
Jaleena squeaked out a quiet but emphatic "Yes!" The girl grinned and stepped back, slowly turning the knife in her fingers as she considered it. She ran one finger along the flat of the blade almost lovingly. Her smile widened as she looked back up at Jaleena.
"Now it's time for our demonstration—just so you know we're serious." Jaleena watched as the girl handed the photo to the boy, who grabbed it with his other gnarled hand—it almost looked to be covered in bark? He held the picture out flat in front of her, the other hand still anchoring her in place. The girl kissed her finger and then pressed it hard into Jaleena's cheek, smiling when the taller girl cringed. Then, to Jaleena's surprise, she held up that finger and pricked it with the small knife. Leena watched in amazement when the girl squeezed her finger over the picture, two drops of blood falling, one on Crake's face, and one on Remy's. The picture began to sizzle, and the blood seemed to eat away at the picture, bubbling and forming holes where each face had been. Jaleena gasped and raised her eyes to meet the grinning girl's eyes. She wagged her bloody finger in front of Leena's face and took a step closer. She kissed her finger again before she pressed it into Leena's cheek again. Jaleena flinched back, waiting to feel the pain as her skin was eaten away, but she felt no pain, just the girl's finger as it slid down her face, down her neck, and into the V of her tank top. The girl ran her finger along the edge of Jaleena's bra and then pulled her hand out with a wad of money—the family's grocery money.
The girl grinned and fanned herself with the money. "Isn't it amazing that all female theives seem to store their cash in the same 'safe' place?" She pocketed the money. "Well, we'll be off now. Best you and your boys keep well away from here. We won't be so nice next time we see you working our territory."
She glanced at the boy, nodded and started walking away. The boy grasped her chin and shoved her head back against the wall hard enough to daze Jaleena. She slid to the ground, fighting to remain conscious as they walked away. Her eyes closed, and when she opened them next, they were gone.
Jaleena pushed herself to a sitting position, lifting a hand to gingerly touch the back of her head. She had a small bump there, but her hand came away free of blood, so the skin hadn't been broken. She looked around and was relieved to find she was alone. On the ground next to her sat the picture. She shuddered, and picked it up to shove it into her bag with some of the other books that had scattered on the ground when she'd been grabbed. She stood, steadying herself against the wall with one hand. She simply stood there for a few moments, breathing deeply and slowly as she fought to get herself and the rolling of her stomach under control. She couldn't panic. She needed to pull herself together and get out of there. She needed to get the boys and get out of there.
She stumbled forward, slowly walking toward the brightness of the street. It took her several minutes to get there, but by the time she did, she felt more steady. She paused to adjust her bag, her clothing, and the smooth back her hair. She stepped out in the street, walking as if she hadn't just be accosted in an alley. It took her a moment to realize she was walking in the wrong direction, and she huffed out a breath of frustration as she had to turn around. These streets were unfamiliar, and it only added to her sense of unease. She nervously clenched and unclenched her hands, trying to work some of the nervous energy out of her. To her chagrin, a sudden wind began to whip down the streets. Yeah, she thought, now my powers start acting up. But nothing when I needed them! She knew she was the most unpracticed with her powers, but she also was the only one who really tried to ignore them most of the time. Maybe it was time to reconsider that lack of interest.
When she finally spotted the boys, they were charming two girls in the same space she had seen them last. She hurried her step to approach them, almost at a run. In her haste, she forgot to start yelling, so when they noticed her, everyone was truly caught by surprise. The girls looked at her curiously, and she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. "You—You—" She sputtered, not able to think of a single thing to call Remy. Her hands shook as she pointed at him, and in fact, she felt as if her whole body were beginning to shake. Remy pushed the girl who had been standing nearest to him away, which was a good thing, because Leena never did get a clear sentence out. She stood in front of him for a moment, sputtering.
He smoothly held his hands up in front of him and gave her a charming smile, "Now darling," he said, "It's really not what you think. Just let me explain!"
Jaleena sputtered the word "Bastard!" and then hauled off and hit him, only her fingers were clenched, so she ended up punching him rather than slapping as she had planned. Everyone was shocked when he stumbled back a few feet from the blow, most of all Remy.
He took a step back from the blow, and lifted his hand to his lip. When he pulled it away, there was blood on his fingers. He looked at her in surprise, "What the hell, Leena?"
Jaleena didn't even hear him. All Leena saw was the blood on his fingers, and she felt as if the ground dropped out from beneath her feet. She looked up in horror to meet his eyes, then back down to the blood on his fingers. She recalled the blood on the petite blonde's fingers as she grinned smugly at her. Jaleena only shook her head, turned, and ran.
