Aladdin was still on the roof, and he was still confused. Thank goodness the cops had decided to just question him there instead of taking him to the station. Although it had been clear that Officer Rasoul was not too happy about that. On the other hand, he had had it in for Aladdin since his first day on the force, so that wasn't too surprising.
And then, of course, there was Jasmine. Why on earth would a girl with a life like that want to come to the other side of Manhattan? Aladdin had known that Officer Sultana had a daughter (who in New York didn't, after what happened to his wife?), but somehow he'd pictured...well, definitely not the Jasmine he'd met.
Aladdin felt the cool night air creep up on him and decided to back inside. He was basically alone- Omar and Cassie were still out, and Bobby was busy writing research reports for his Botany 101 class at NYU. He had just crashed on the old plaid couch with the Ben & Jerry's when the phone began ringing loud enough to wake the dead.
"Okay, okay, hold on," he muttered, tucking the Cherry Garcia under his arm as he proceeded to trip over Cassie's laundry, a stack of Bobby's books, and Omar's... wait, what was that thing anyway? Never mind. "Hello?"
"Hello, Aladdin."
Whoa, how did the guy know his name? "Um, hi. Who is this?"
"My name is immaterial. I have a job for you, boy."
"Look, I'm not in the business anymore." Aladdin was getting awfully tired of having to explain this to people. Especially when he really wanted to-- no! "Sorry, have a nice day."
"How silly you young people are." Aladdin could hear the man chuckling on the other end of the phone. "Haven't you ever heard of the Golden Rule? Whoever has the gold makes the rule. Besides, it's in your blood."
Aladdin decided he was officially freaked out now. Who was this guy, and how did he know so much about him? Well, he was right. Aladdin's father used to be known as the King of Thieves, Aladdin had been taught to steal at a young age and it came naturally to him. He had used the skill to his advantage for several years, but the second he turned eighteen he had vowed to give it up. He didn't want to end up like his dad.
On the other hand... well, one little job couldn't hurt. Aladdin felt the familiar tingle of excitement.
"Okay," he said, lowering his voice and cradling the phone closer. "What's the job?"
A/N: Here 'tis, here 'tis! Thank you so much to all of my reviewers!!! I honestly didn't expect to get such a positive response. Keep a-readin', keep a-reviewin', keep a-enjoyin' (hopefully...hehe)!