Chapter Twenty-Nine – The Last Laugh

Three years had passed, and things had changed once again. Two boys were gone, but only one had come to take their place. Everything was changing, happening so soon…only one remained of Fagin's original gang since Bill had moved out, and that was Ezra.

Norman and Frankie had been transported.

--

"Look Dodge! Over there, see 'im?"

Norman gesticulated in the direction of a particularly well dressed looking man, with a plum coloured tailcoat and a tall hat in the same velvety hue. Dodger nodded eagerly; a prime plant indeed. He was willing to bet that old toff's suit was made of the same material as the Queen's Sunday best.

"Don't you worry 'bout a thing mate," Frankie interjected, grabbing Norman's arm. "You leave 'im to us! Learn from the best!"

Dodger laughed; he was the best of the three and they all knew it. But he'd let them show off and have their fun; what were friends for? The two pranksters were his brothers, his best friends; he had to let them share his glory. He contented himself with idling on the pavement opposite, watching as the chuckling pair made their way towards the old man.

The pair proceeded as they always had done; Norman slipped his hand into the man's pocket, locked his fingers on his wallet and quickly extracted it, handing it fluidly to Frankie in one movement. However, Frankie was a bit slow in his acceptance of the wallet, and it slipped from his fingers to land on the ground. He hurriedly stooped to pick it up but not before he and Norman were noticed by a passing policeman.

Dodger began to run forwards, not caring that his involvement would get him caught too. Suddenly his path was blocked by a passing omnibus, and he could proceed no further unless he wanted to be crushed beneath its wheels. When the vehicle had finally rumbled past, Norman, Frankie, the toff and the policeman had all disappeared.

--

There was news of the boys' sentence in the evening's paper; they were to be transported to Australia within the week. Dodger had told Fagin he'd seen them caught, and Fagin had dealt with him soundly for failing to bring them back, although there was nothing the boy could have done. But the article in the paper, seeing the boys' names in bold black letters…it chilled them all to the core. No-one went out on the job for a day or two, to be on the safe side, but nothing further was heard.

Norman and Frankie hadn't peached; they, the remaining members of Fagin's gang, were safe.

For now.

--

The year after Norman and Frankie's untimely departure, another boy arrived on the scene to take their place. He had been found and brought back to the den by Dodger himself; he was a much of a prankster as Norman and Frankie had been, perhaps even more so. Dodger was quick to take him under his wing; the boy was a natural pickpocket already and he and Dodger got along famously.

This boy's name was Charley Bates.

--

The Artful Dodger was meandering down the road as usual, hat sitting proudly on his head, hands deep in his pockets, eyes scanning the bustling marketplace in search of a toff whose pockets looked in need of lightening.

Spotting such a man at last, he made his way towards him, only to have another boy stick his hand in the man's back pocket the exact same time that he did. As the man turned to spot them, Dodger grabbed the boy's wrist and dragging him along with him, plunging deep into the melee that was the morning shoppers, trying to lose himself and his companion amongst the throng.

It worked; despite the fact that they had been spotted, no-one appeared to be following them. There were neither cries of 'Stop, thief!' nor the shrill squeal of a policeman's whistle. Dodger continued to pull the boy through the crowd with him, not stopping running (or trying to in the crush) until he reached the streets with which he was more familiar.

That had been too close…he could have been caught like Norman and Frankie…

Reaching the relative safety of an alleyway Dodger let go of the other boy's wrist, collapsing against the wall and trying to catch his breath. Having done so he looked over at his companion. He hadn't dashed off as Dodger had expected him to do, nor was he gasping for breath after their narrow escape.

He was laughing.

"Ha ha ha!" cried the boy, clutching his sides and rolling his head in all sorts of fantastic contortions. "Tha'…was…flippin'…FUNNY!"

Dodger raised an eyebrow.

"It wos though!" exclaimed the boy, seeing Dodger's dubious expression. "We both tried to nab the wallet from the same toff!"

"Yes, we did," Dodger said, grinding his teeth. This kid had cost him his best pick of the day! Fagin would be cross with him now; even despite being the best of the gang, it didn't make Dodger's work any easier.

"Who are ya?" said the boy, trying in vain to stop laughing.

Dodger looked affronted, but then began to relax a bit. True, this kid had cost him his best pocket that day, but he seemed friendly…plus he hadn't blamed Dodger for the whole thing, merely shrugging it off as 'flippin' funny'.

"My name is Jack Dawkins," the Dodger replied. "Better known among me more hintimate friends as The Artful Dodger!"

"Cor!" exclaimed the other. "I'm jus' plain old Charley Bates, me ol' mucker. D'ya reckon if I 'ang abouts wiv ya I can 'ave a nickname too?"

Dodger chuckled.

"Course! Consider yourself at 'ome, Charley. Come on!"

With that, The Artful Dodger and Charley Bates became the best of friends, and made their way back to Fagin's den, in the highest of spirits.

--

These changes did not go un-noticed by Bill, who visited the gang frequently (if only to ask Fagin for his cash and surreptitiously see Nancy again). He knew by now that Fagin saw through his façade and realized his coming to discuss business as an ulterior motive for seeing Nancy, but the old man was wise enough not to voice his opinion on the subject.

Nancy was eleven years of age now, blossoming from a fair child into a beautiful young woman. She enjoyed the company of the boys however, mothering the younger ones and annoying the heck out of those her age. But she always had a soft spot for Bill; whenever he came to visit the gang her eyes would light up and her cheeks would turn a little pinker.

Fagin noticed this, as he noticed everything.

It made him laugh.

--

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up; last week of school and all that jazz. XD

Lots of stuff happened in this chapter, here's hoping it worked out OK!

Please R&R! ^^