Mozzie looked up at the gray sky. It seemed unnaturally silent after the heavy downpour of earlier. Walking down the crowded sidewalk towards the nearest subway station, he shivered slightly as his breath came out in clouds. He was... less than comfortable being around so many people at once, especially with the hour getting as late as it was, but it was unfortunately necessary.
Someone just an inch or so shorter than him bumped into his left side. Hard. He stopped and looked down, his gaze caught momentarily by a pair of bright blue-green eyes.
"I'm sorry, sir, I wasn't looking where I was going," the dark-haired kid said, his expression sincere and repentant.
"It's fine," Mozzie said dismissively, his thoughts on his eventual destination rather than the present. He turned back towards the subway station and kept walking. He descended the stairs to the subway. An elderly man was sitting and playing an admittedly beautiful song on a violin. He had the case open in front of his feet.
It's probably a scam, Mozzie decided, always the cynical one. But he had some extra cash, and he was feeling generous, so he reached for his wallet.
And he found only an empty pocket where it should've been.
Suddenly his mind analyzed the situation of a few moments earlier. "I'm sorry, sir." The innocent-looking young teen bumping him now seemed like the most likely explanation. Mozzie cursed internally. It just so happened that the one day he decided to bring something in his wallet he cared about keeping, it got stolen. Just my luck.
He hurried back up the subway stairs, ignoring the indignant protests of the masses as he pushed past them. Emerging back into the slightly darkening evening, he started walking in the direction he'd seen the kid walking. It was a long shot, but he really wanted the wallet back.
After a few frustrating minutes of scanning, he finally caught a glance of a blue-green eyes and dark hair moving through the crowd. Mozzie clenched his teeth, hoping it was the same kid, and walked a little quicker towards him. Yes, it was definitely him. Mozzie stopped a few feet away, and watched as the young man pulled a pickpocketing job right in front of him. This one was much better. His mark didn't even notice. Someone must've bumped the kid into Mozzie, he decided, or he never would've been able to tell at all.
Mozzie moved forward and grabbed the kid's shoulder. His flinch was more than a normal reaction should be.
"I need to talk to you for a minute," Mozzie said quietly. "Come over here with me?" He was confused when the kid winced and twisted slightly to get away from his hand; his grip on the youth's shoulder was firm, but shouldn't have been tight enough to be painful.
"Do I have a choice?" The kid muttered. Mozzie steered him underneath the awning of a café that was still dripping cold rain.
"I believe you have something that belongs to me." Mozzie saw worry flash in the kid's eyes for a brief second, quickly replaced by a calm, questioning look.
"What do you mean?" He asked, tilting his head to one side. His dark curls were still a bit damp from the rain, as were his clothes--a light green, short sleeved t-shirt and dark blue, slightly worn jeans that Mozzie felt were very unsuited to the cold, wet weather.
"Cut the crap," Mozzie advised with a noise of impatience, still keeping his voice down. "You've got my wallet, kid. And, by the look of things, several other people's, too."
"Look, sir, I have no idea what you're talking about." The young thief stood there, his posture and expression just the right mixture of confusion and polite frustration. His act was slightly ruined by the obviously repressed shivering Mozzie could see. The kid was cold, and trying to hide it.
"Either we can do this the easy way, and you give me my wallet no questions asked," Mozzie said, quirking one eyebrow. "Or we do this the hard way, and I go have a talk with one of the outstanding law enforcers around here." The boy hesitated for one more second, then wordlessly pulled out Mozzie's well-used brown wallet and held it towards him. As he lifted his arm, Mozzie saw a slight bruise where the sleeve had before been covering it. Without comment, Mozzie took the wallet and quickly found what he needed, holding back a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," Mozzie said curtly.
"Can I please leave now?" The kid asked with a forced politeness.
"Yes. But first, I have a tip for you." In response, the kid just raised an eyebrow.
"I saw you pull the same job a minute ago. It was better. Did someone bump you when you were pickpocketing me?" A slightly surprised look passed over the kid's face, and he shrugged.
"Maybe. Why?"
"If that happens again, don't stop, and don't look up. You're too memorable. Just say you're sorry and keep walking." The surprise turned to slight suspicion, but he nodded. "If you hadn't stopped all innocent-like, I wouldn't have ever thought of you. And even if I had, I doubt I would've been able to find you. Most of your average citizens will usually think they've dropped something, rather than assuming it was stolen, but you can't be too careful."
"Why're you telling me this?"
"I'm not encouraging the continuation of this," Mozzie assured him. "I'd just hate for you to get arrested when you're just making a few rookie mistakes."
"Rookie, huh? As opposed to you?"
"Maybe." Mozzie shrugged. "Now you can go."
"Oh, thanks," the youth said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He walked away back into the cold darkness, and Mozzie shook his head with a half smile and walked back down to the subway.
A/N: I know this one didn't use the word. Is that a requirement? Does it bother you if it doesn't? I'm curious. ...But gumption. It's a strange word. So I didn't feel like it fit smoothly anywhere. Hope you enjoyed this. Being ... me, the picture of teenage-ish Neal in my head tends to make me... giddy. Anyone else? I'd love feedback!
