Chapter 3
Later that week on a dark, wet, chilly evening just like most of the other evenings that week, Jack and Charlie sat spreading the boards by the window of the den. The window seat having by default been claimed as officially Jack's seat. Nobody argued for he was the highest ranking in the group and so therefore deserved to choose his own seat.
Being the two most senior boys, Jack and Charlie had been kept busy teaching the new recruits the craft, it hadn't been an easy ride, not all were gifted in light fingering and quick tactics and trying to drum that into their small heads had been tough work.
Charlie had noticed that Jack's mood had altered since Alice and Oliver had found their way back to the den. The little piece of Jack that disappeared when Alice left had suddenly returned and Charlie was overjoyed to have his best mate back in one piece.
The absence of Alice and Oliver had affected the original group a lot, they missed the soft, caring motherly touch that only Alice had been able to give and Oliver's sweet innocence was duly missed in times of heated arguments.
So far neither Jack nor Charlie had needed to cheat, the game had gone extremely well for both sides and it was only now that it was beginning to seem necessary for someone to cheat in order for the game to come to an end. Charlie was about to make the first dishonest move when the door burst open.
Everyone froze. There had been no knocking, no pre-warning of visitors, no secret code. It could only mean trouble.
Fagin cautiously emerged into the room, curious to who had entered the den and why they had felt they had the right to do so. A young man of around 20-25 stood in the middle of the room, he was dripping wet but showed no signs of it affecting him in the slightest. His attire at first glance looked like a respectable gentleman but taking a closer look, patches of years of repair work could be seen.
On seeing the young man standing there, an air of importance and threat, Fagin strode as fast as his old legs would let him over to the intruder.
"And you are?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
The stranger began to pace around the room, taking every single detail in with his sharp penetrating eyes. He stepped dead in front of Fagin.
"It depends on whether you are the famed Fagin I seek?" he ambiguously replied.
"Whether I am or not what business is it with you?" Fagin attempted to match his ambiguity.
"Arh, so you are he. I want to talk business Fagin, on a scale that I think you'll agree to." The ambiguity clearly not so opaque as Fagin had thought.
"I don't generally do business with people I don't know." Fagin hinted.
"The name's Max, you'd do well to remember it." The young man step neatly passed Fagin and into the small room Fagin had emerged from. The older man hurried after him, concerned on the safety of his few belongings.
Jack and Charlie exchanged glances both wondering the purpose of the private meeting and the 'business' that Max had with Fagin. They tried to return to their card game but the enjoyment and concentration they had held before was lost, their minds too bothered about the utterings that were happening behind the behind the thin wall that Fagin had adopted as his own private study.
Each picked up their deck of cards and stared at it for a split second before replacing it on the table, losing patience they scrambled over to the makeshift door that separated them from the information they wanted to know. With an ear pressed up against the gap, the two boys listened in.
"You're in possession of the one thing I haven't got." They heard Max tell Fagin.
"Oh and what's that?"
"The boys, Fagin, the boys!"
"What about my boys?" Jack was surprised at how protective Fagin seemed of the gang at this moment in time.
"They have the talent and skills that could easily be moulded into talent and skills in other lines of work apart from pickpocketing haven't they?" Max seemed to make every question sound more like a statement then a query.
"Hmm…yes…" Fagin responded clearly unsure of how this conversation was going.
"Well, don't you think some of them are really too old to be in this game?"
"You're never too old to pickpocket!" Fagin interjected.
"Yes but some of their talents could be used to be doing bigger and better things." Jack and Charlie did not like the way this was turning out.
"Um…I suppose…" Fagin said become more cautious of Max's intentions.
"And you would gain 20% of the profits," Max added.
"30%" Fagin bargained.
"25%" Max offered.
"Done." Fagin agreed. Typically nothing else mattered in his mind once money had come into the equation.
Jack felt an overpowering sense of foreboding about Max's intentions and so curious to know more of what this agreement would amend to. Which meant that when Charlie began to rise, thinking he had heard everything that was going to be said, and nearly blowing their cover, Jack quickly pulled him back down before either of them noticed that the two boys were at the doorway eavesdropping.
"Now, I'm certain you must have at least two or three boys who would fit the bill."
"Well Dodger and Charlie would fit although I…" Fagin was cut short.
"Perfect! They'll be the first apprentices."
Jack clenched his fist in anger, why did Fagin have to blurt out their names?! He didn't have to mention them; it wasn't necessary and now look what he had done.
Jack and Charlie scrambled away from the doorway as Max sauntered out crossing the room as if he owned the place. Fagin then revealed himself sheepishly from the same doorway. The difference between the two men was astonishing to watch, the brazen, tall, young gentleman and the sly, frail old man who contrary to observations did in fact own the place.
"I'll be back tomorrow morning, so prepare yourselves boys!" Max addressed Jack and Charlie as he passed them. Although the comment was meant to be light-hearted both boys couldn't help but notice a touch of malice hidden within his words.
As soon as Max was out of earshot, Jack flew at Fagin. His anger came out in one fell swoop.
"How dare you set us up like that! He could be a murderer for all you know how would you feel then if we ended up dead because of you?!" Jack yelled pinning the old man up against the wall, threatening him with his fist.
"Dodge!" Charlie shrieked pulling his best mate away from their guardian.
"He said 'although', he wasn't gonna just hand us over." Charlie stated after practically throwing Jack to the floor. He snapped his head back at Fagin.
"What were you gonna say?" Charlie asked his voice lowering to invoke calm.
"Although I need you both here." Fagin finished the long unanswered question.
"No you weren't or else you wouldn't have let him have us!" Jack bawled.
"Dodger, calm down." Charlie attempted to console his best friend.
By this time Fagin had darted out of the way back into his small room. Charlie sighed. He could never tell what Fagin's true intentions were, had he been honestly going to say what he had told them he had or had that just been a cover up for whatever had really been on his mind at the time? The only person in Charlie's memory that had ever been able to get the truth out of Fagin was Alice and now that Alice was no longer around Fagin was becoming less and less easy to decipher.
With Fagin gone, Jack retreated back into his bed, not the window as Charlie had assumed, and had curled himself into a ball his mind exploding with thoughts.
As the window seat was empty Charlie recoiled to it, staring out of the misty glass pane and although his eyes were looking through it he did not see the dim-lit street below or the beggar that scurried along the pavement. Instead his mind took him back to when his best friend had been fun to be around, less of the emotional turmoil that he seemed to be encased in everyday and more of the light-hearted, easy going Jack that he missed.
Most of all Charlie wanted Alice back, to make Jack happy, to get Fagin to be more open, just to be there like she always was.
Jack was still lying in bed when Max arrived.
Charlie had been up hours before him, grabbing whatever leftovers there was for breakfast and seeing the younger boys were dressed and then sent them on their rounds. He hated having the responsibilities shoved upon him. He knew he was the most experienced and therefore the responsibility was rightly upon him but Jack was much more suited to the overloaded responsibility then Charlie would ever be.
With the boy's having all left for their rounds, Charlie was left with one last responsibility that he was more apt at completing.
"Dodger! Wake up!" he said gently.
"I'm awake." Jack replied, indignantly.
"Then why aren't you up?" Charlie asked annoyed now.
"You know why! Leave me alone Charlie." Jack exclaimed throwing his head back on the pillow. Charlie took a while to think and then recalled what Jack was on about.
"And you know I don't like the responsibility of getting the boys up!" Charlie retaliated.
Jack rolled over to face Charlie, a big grin on his face, his eyes lit up for a second and in that second Charlie glimpsed the old Dodger.
"Oh Charlie, really!" he laughed.
Throwing off the covers, Jack stepped out of bed and the moment was lost. The old Dodger returned to the emotional, moody one. Pouring himself a drink and rejecting breakfast, as there was nothing left, he plonked himself on a chair, sipping his drink thoughtfully.
Charlie thought better then to disturb him and tried to busy himself with something although he was struggling to find something actually worth doing.
"You two still here?" Fagin interrupted their individual time.
"That Max bloke hasn't turned up yet." Charlie replied glad of something to occupy him even if it was just small talk with Fagin, it was better the sitting in silence with Jack.
"Well he seemed a man of his word I'm sure he'll be along soon." Fagin said wandering away from Charlie and searching the room, with his eyes, for his log book, which he knew he had put down in this room somewhere.
As if the last comment had been telepathic the door swung open and in strode the very same Max that they had been talking about, expressing the same brash confidence as before.
"You need to learn the code mate!" Charlie commented regretting it immediately after receiving one of Max's hard stares which made him shudder with fear.
"I was only suggesting that it might be a good idea to learn it so we don't think you're the police or something." He added, the presence of the man making him nervous.
Slam. Max's hand hit the table in front of Jack in effort to scare him but only achieving a lift of the eyes in his direction.
"Sit." Max ordered. Charlie obeyed not wishing to know what would happen if he didn't.
"Now I hear you are the fine wirers of this gang," Max began the conversation.
"What about it?" Jack interjected in a cool, meaningless manner.
Charlie frowned; Jack knew what he was on about? Max's choice of expression had confused him greatly and then Jack ha replied so calmly as though he understood ever word, which of course he did.
"Ever tried a bit of cracksman work?" Max altered the subject.
Charlie lightened up, he knew what this meant.
"I can picklock," Charlie offered.
"Ah, Toffken houses?" Max queried sounding impressed.
"Well mainly deadlurks."
Max's impressed expression left his face and he turned to Jack evidently expecting something better from him.
"I've tried my hand at safecracking not very much of it though." Jack gave him the disappointing answer.
Sighing Max quickly thought of the positive things he could do with the little experience he had to go by.
"Well, those might come in handy." He mused.
"What do you want us for anyway?" Jack asked directly bored of playing waiting games.
Max grinned, a wide overplayed grin that was unnerving.
"You'll find out soon enough!"
Meanwhile Fagin had conveniently placed himself next to the table within earshot of the conversation and of course was equally as disappointed with the answer Max gave the two boys. It gave them nothing to go on and they had no idea what to expect and although Fagin was very curious to discover what Max wanted his best pickpockets for he was not going to ask straight out, it was his way apart from that he was slightly frightened of speaking to Max.
"Look, you two meet me tomorrow at my den and I'll explain everything." Max told them.
Of course the next inevitable question, which Charlie iterated, was the location of Max's den.
Fagin leaned in closer intent to discover the whereabouts of this mysterious man's lodgings.
Fully aware of Fagin eavesdropping, Max beckoned Jack and Charlie closer to him and whispered the location to them away from Fagin's prying ears.
With the location revealed to the two people it concerned Max stood up and told them to be there at the prompt time of nine thirty, he then strode out of the room in very much the same format he had arrived in.
With Max gone, Jack and Charlie relaxed into their chairs neither had realise how tense they had been until now. All would be revealed tomorrow morning.
Sorry for the long wait I've been so busy recently that I have had to write little and less often than usual, don't worry I'll pick up the pace from now on! please review!