The next day dawned bright, clear, and cool. It wouldn't be for long,
though. All the visitors of the previous night were gone. They had gone
home to get a good night's rest; they'd need it. Jack and Spot woke up
early. They checked around the Lodging House to see if any unwelcome
visitors had come during the night. It looked like someone had. There was
an empty beer bottle and a sandwich wrapped from the deli down the street
there. The dirt looked as if someone had been walking around and sat down
on it. Thy checked the side with the fire escape and it looked as if no
one had been there but their intended guests. They went back into the
house, knowing that someone was watching them. They knew that Gabrielli's
men knew that they knew they were there. (A/N: hehehe. I thought I'd put
that in for giggles. Basically, Jack knows that the bad guys know that
Jack knows that the bad guys are thereā¦if that helps at all ;) ) That
helped things in that and Spot didn't have to play dumb. At around 7:00
that morning Spot got the ring and went out to the deli to get some food.
He suspected that they wouldn't think he was stupid enough to bring out the
ring right under their noses. But (obviously) he was. He whistled as he
walked, but he was really listening for footsteps behind him. Sure as the
day is long, he heard footsteps 20 feet behind him. He smiled to himself
and went to the deli. As per the plan, Racetrack was there. They
pretended not to know each other as Race ordered his daily "Tuna on rye
with pickles". It wasn't odd to see him there, and no one noticed when he
slipped his hand into Spot's pocket and took out the ring. Even Spot
wouldn't have realized had he not known that he was going to do it. That
thought made him slightly uncomfortable so he vowed to keep his wallet
safer. Race took his order and left, accidentally bumping in to the man
that had entered the store after Spot.
"So sorry. You okay?" Race apologized. The man just nodded and Racetrack walked off. Spot smiled despite the somewhat desperate situation he was currently in. He got his order and left. He hummed a little tune as he made his way to central park. It looked as Spot's new "admirer" didn't know that the ring, and his wallet, was now safely in Race's pants pocket. Spot chose a bench and sat down to enjoy his food.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Racetrack Higgins walked along, listening for the sound of footsteps behind him. He was in a small alley that connected two main streets and was surprised to hear someone behind him. He thought he had done a pretty good job of getting the ring, and the wallet. He pretended to have to tie his shoe, so he could get a look at who was following him. It wasn't the same guy as before.
"Sorry, I just gotta tie my shoe. It'll take a second" the man nodded and Race tied his shoe. He got up and made his was out of the alley onto the main road. He went directly into the throng of people. He wasn't going anywhere in particular so he let the crowd carry him. He lost his new "friend" quickly and made his way towards the docks. Blink was sitting on a bench on the docks, looking at the seagulls. Racetrack sat next to him, "conveniently" the only spot left. Blinks hand was in and out of his pocket so quickly that Racetrack was surprised when he got up to go. Blink walked straight into Race's follower, excusing himself and going towards Midtown
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Blink went into a restaurant in Midtown and walked straight to the back. There was a one person bathroom where Blink knew he would be safe. He knew he was being followed, and he needed to lose him. He actually did use the bathroom. He took the stolen wallet out of his pocket and opened it up. There was $100, and some pictures. One of them was Spot, and the other was Lenora. It mildly surprised him, but it made sense. If they needed to find someone, they needed to know what they looked like. He took the money and shoved it into his pocket. If they were trying to kill Spot and his daughter, he might as well lose all of hid money. He climbed out the small window easily and closed it again. He walked from the restaurant to a statue of the founder of Midtown, Marcus Menchoni. There he stopped and waited. Mush was there after about five minutes. He breezed right by Blink without batting an eyelash. Blink didn't think that he could have taken the ring just by walking by, but when he pulled out a cigarette, after fishing around in his pocket, he smiled at just how accomplished Much had become in the art of pick pocketing.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Mush walked from Midtown and back into Manhattan. Boots was already there, holding a cigarette. Boots wasn't a pickpocket, so they came up with an alternative method of ring tranport.
"Hey, Mista. Gotta light?"
"Sure. Here ya go." Mush gave a box of matches to him.
"Tanks." Boots said, and took a match out and lit his cigarette. He didn't close the matchbox as he put it into his pocket. Boots walked off. Mush was happy to see no one had followed him and no one was currently following Boots.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Boots heard footsteps behind him. It made him a little nervous, like Spot Colon once had. He walked on, intent on getting to Jack. He made it to the meting spot with no problems, and he sat on a bench, like he was supposed to. The man who had been following him sat next to him on the banch. Boots knew what he was up to. Boots shoved his hands deep into his pockets, to prevent the man from getting into them. Jack came around, wearing a sandwich board. It read "Come To Tibby's! The best restaurant in the Manhattan!" Boots laughed a little at this. He got up and did as he was supposed to.
"Hey. Where exactly is Tibby's?" Boots said, nonchantly.
"Ya see that sign, way down there?" Boots got closer to Jack to see where he was pointing.
"The one tha says 'Bellaramo's Shoes?'"
"That's the one. Go down dere and take a left, and ya' can't miss it."
"Thanks. Have a nice day."
"Ya welcome, You, too." Jack walked off, hawking "Come to Tibby's, the best show on Earth!"
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Jack smiled at himself. I still got it, he thought. He walked from Manhattan to the Bonx. He didn't like sending his son there, but he had no choice. He was still hawking Tibby's praises when he saw them. Ryan was being held with his arms behind his back by a large man. The smaller of the two was in front of him, yelling.
"Waddya mean, ya don't have any money?" he spat.
"Waddya tink it means, bozo?" Ryan yelled back. This earned him a fist in the stomach and an uppercut to his jaw. This was too much for Jack to bear and he let out a yell.
"HEY! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFFA HIM!" The pair was so surprised that they complied. Ryan sagged then stood back up. The slammed his elbow hard into the guy behind him, then threw his fist into the other guys mouth. While the two were recovering he walked away, towards his dad.
"Tanks, mista. I owe ya one" Jack nodded. The boy tripped and slammed into Jack, a little too hard. They both toppled over, but when they got up Ryan had the ring firmly in his hand. He deftly slipped into his pocket in the blink of an eye then shot his hand out to help his dad up. Soon they were on their separate ways, Jack to Queens and Ryan to Manhattan.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Sunshine was sitting on the statue of Horace Greely that resided in front of the Lodging House. She was waiting for Ryan and was getting a little impatient. She was naturally impatient so she wasn't' worried yet. When he didn't show up twenty minutes later, she did start to worry. Horrible thoughts ran through her head, and each one was worse than the last. She had an active imagination and was aptly thinking of all the ways he could be hurt at this very moment. Just as the tension was about to kill her, she saw a familiar figure walk out from an alley. It was Ryan, a little worse for the ware, but smiling. He practically skipped up to her. She jumped down and hugged him. He laughed and put his arms around her. She rested her hard on his chest and played with his collar.
"I've gotta surprise for you" he said in a singsong voice.
"Oh really? Then let me have it"
"You'll have to find it. It's somewhere on me." He said with a devilish look. She began to ransack his clothes. She pulled everything from his pockets and slipped the ring into her own. She continued until she got to his chest pocket. She undid the little flap and opened it. Inside there was an envelope. She opened the envelope and inside there were two theater tickets. They were to a local play that Sunshine had been raving about for weeks. The look on her face was priceless, and Ryan wasn't as sorry or being late. She jumped up and down and then kissed him soundly on the lips. They were in the middle of another kiss when Sunshine was violently ripped from Ryan's embrace. Before she could scream, the world went black as a rag was put over her mouth. The same happened and the tickets slipped from his hand. The two people were carried from the scene, the tickets forgotten.
(A/N: Yay! I've almost gotten to my favorite part! There will be more twist and turns, so watch out. Thanks to my reviewers!)
"So sorry. You okay?" Race apologized. The man just nodded and Racetrack walked off. Spot smiled despite the somewhat desperate situation he was currently in. He got his order and left. He hummed a little tune as he made his way to central park. It looked as Spot's new "admirer" didn't know that the ring, and his wallet, was now safely in Race's pants pocket. Spot chose a bench and sat down to enjoy his food.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Racetrack Higgins walked along, listening for the sound of footsteps behind him. He was in a small alley that connected two main streets and was surprised to hear someone behind him. He thought he had done a pretty good job of getting the ring, and the wallet. He pretended to have to tie his shoe, so he could get a look at who was following him. It wasn't the same guy as before.
"Sorry, I just gotta tie my shoe. It'll take a second" the man nodded and Race tied his shoe. He got up and made his was out of the alley onto the main road. He went directly into the throng of people. He wasn't going anywhere in particular so he let the crowd carry him. He lost his new "friend" quickly and made his way towards the docks. Blink was sitting on a bench on the docks, looking at the seagulls. Racetrack sat next to him, "conveniently" the only spot left. Blinks hand was in and out of his pocket so quickly that Racetrack was surprised when he got up to go. Blink walked straight into Race's follower, excusing himself and going towards Midtown
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Blink went into a restaurant in Midtown and walked straight to the back. There was a one person bathroom where Blink knew he would be safe. He knew he was being followed, and he needed to lose him. He actually did use the bathroom. He took the stolen wallet out of his pocket and opened it up. There was $100, and some pictures. One of them was Spot, and the other was Lenora. It mildly surprised him, but it made sense. If they needed to find someone, they needed to know what they looked like. He took the money and shoved it into his pocket. If they were trying to kill Spot and his daughter, he might as well lose all of hid money. He climbed out the small window easily and closed it again. He walked from the restaurant to a statue of the founder of Midtown, Marcus Menchoni. There he stopped and waited. Mush was there after about five minutes. He breezed right by Blink without batting an eyelash. Blink didn't think that he could have taken the ring just by walking by, but when he pulled out a cigarette, after fishing around in his pocket, he smiled at just how accomplished Much had become in the art of pick pocketing.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Mush walked from Midtown and back into Manhattan. Boots was already there, holding a cigarette. Boots wasn't a pickpocket, so they came up with an alternative method of ring tranport.
"Hey, Mista. Gotta light?"
"Sure. Here ya go." Mush gave a box of matches to him.
"Tanks." Boots said, and took a match out and lit his cigarette. He didn't close the matchbox as he put it into his pocket. Boots walked off. Mush was happy to see no one had followed him and no one was currently following Boots.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Boots heard footsteps behind him. It made him a little nervous, like Spot Colon once had. He walked on, intent on getting to Jack. He made it to the meting spot with no problems, and he sat on a bench, like he was supposed to. The man who had been following him sat next to him on the banch. Boots knew what he was up to. Boots shoved his hands deep into his pockets, to prevent the man from getting into them. Jack came around, wearing a sandwich board. It read "Come To Tibby's! The best restaurant in the Manhattan!" Boots laughed a little at this. He got up and did as he was supposed to.
"Hey. Where exactly is Tibby's?" Boots said, nonchantly.
"Ya see that sign, way down there?" Boots got closer to Jack to see where he was pointing.
"The one tha says 'Bellaramo's Shoes?'"
"That's the one. Go down dere and take a left, and ya' can't miss it."
"Thanks. Have a nice day."
"Ya welcome, You, too." Jack walked off, hawking "Come to Tibby's, the best show on Earth!"
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Jack smiled at himself. I still got it, he thought. He walked from Manhattan to the Bonx. He didn't like sending his son there, but he had no choice. He was still hawking Tibby's praises when he saw them. Ryan was being held with his arms behind his back by a large man. The smaller of the two was in front of him, yelling.
"Waddya mean, ya don't have any money?" he spat.
"Waddya tink it means, bozo?" Ryan yelled back. This earned him a fist in the stomach and an uppercut to his jaw. This was too much for Jack to bear and he let out a yell.
"HEY! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFFA HIM!" The pair was so surprised that they complied. Ryan sagged then stood back up. The slammed his elbow hard into the guy behind him, then threw his fist into the other guys mouth. While the two were recovering he walked away, towards his dad.
"Tanks, mista. I owe ya one" Jack nodded. The boy tripped and slammed into Jack, a little too hard. They both toppled over, but when they got up Ryan had the ring firmly in his hand. He deftly slipped into his pocket in the blink of an eye then shot his hand out to help his dad up. Soon they were on their separate ways, Jack to Queens and Ryan to Manhattan.
~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ Across town ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Sunshine was sitting on the statue of Horace Greely that resided in front of the Lodging House. She was waiting for Ryan and was getting a little impatient. She was naturally impatient so she wasn't' worried yet. When he didn't show up twenty minutes later, she did start to worry. Horrible thoughts ran through her head, and each one was worse than the last. She had an active imagination and was aptly thinking of all the ways he could be hurt at this very moment. Just as the tension was about to kill her, she saw a familiar figure walk out from an alley. It was Ryan, a little worse for the ware, but smiling. He practically skipped up to her. She jumped down and hugged him. He laughed and put his arms around her. She rested her hard on his chest and played with his collar.
"I've gotta surprise for you" he said in a singsong voice.
"Oh really? Then let me have it"
"You'll have to find it. It's somewhere on me." He said with a devilish look. She began to ransack his clothes. She pulled everything from his pockets and slipped the ring into her own. She continued until she got to his chest pocket. She undid the little flap and opened it. Inside there was an envelope. She opened the envelope and inside there were two theater tickets. They were to a local play that Sunshine had been raving about for weeks. The look on her face was priceless, and Ryan wasn't as sorry or being late. She jumped up and down and then kissed him soundly on the lips. They were in the middle of another kiss when Sunshine was violently ripped from Ryan's embrace. Before she could scream, the world went black as a rag was put over her mouth. The same happened and the tickets slipped from his hand. The two people were carried from the scene, the tickets forgotten.
(A/N: Yay! I've almost gotten to my favorite part! There will be more twist and turns, so watch out. Thanks to my reviewers!)
