The Unknowables

Chapter 12

Instead of going to the theatre as normal, Shay told me she wants to meet at the hideout. I get there and leap the gap with ease. In comparison with flying through the theatre rafters, just leaping the gap is a cakewalk. I’m surprised with how far I’ve come in such a short amount of time. When I arrive I’m confronted with a coat rack dressed with what I assume are Lances clothes.

The coat rack wears a sweater big enough to be a jacket wrapped around it, a hat has been added for added effect and shoes are placed at the base. Shay walks in with an armload of different clothes in her arms. I see Kitty walk past in the hallway toward her room, I call a hello to her but get only a smile and a grunt in reply, her nose is buried deep in the book I lent her.

“Good, your here just in time. I’ll give you a guess what we’re doing today.”

“Creating a fashion line for coat racks?”

“Good guess but no. I’m going to teach you how to pick pockets.” Shay chuckles.

I’m a little shocked. It’s none of my business to judge how these guys make their way through life, but I have no interest in stealing from strangers.

“Umm… Shay? I don’t know about this, I mean I really care for you guys and all, but I don’t think I can steal stuff for you.”

“Oh no. That’s not what I’m asking of you Wren. Even Kitty knows how to pick pockets but I forbid her from ever doing so. It’s a useful skill to have, and if… something should happen to me, then Kitty at least knows how to get enough money to take care of herself.”

“Do you expect something to happen to you?”

“No, but there are people out there looking for us. It’s good to have Kitty and you prepared should anything happen. We do the best we can Wren, when your not here we’re jumping in dumpsters looking for stuff to pawn and doing odd jobs, like sweeping storefronts, for a couple bucks. I only pick pockets when I can’t find any work, I don’t do it for the thrill. I also make sure only to steal from people who more or less deserve it, think of me as an instrument of karma.”

“How do you know who deserves it?”

“Well, as you know one of my abilities allows me to ‘taste’ the air. I use this and basic logic to determine who deserves it or not. For example, the last guy I picked smelled like a drug dealer, I confirmed it when I saw him selling in an ally. It’s dangerous a lot of the time because the people I choose to pick from are actually bad people. But I can’t bring myself to take from people I don’t know are bad. And I never steal from shops, that’s the first rule, it’s not worth getting caught. I just want to give you the tools you’ll need should something happen Wren.”

It sounds reasonable enough to me. She just wants to teach me how to do it, it doesn’t mean I’ll ever have to use it.

“Alright Shay. Teach me.”

So Shay teaches me the art of pick pocketing. She uses the coat rack as an kind of fake person for me to observe her movements so that I can copy them. Then when she thinks I grasp the basic idea she puts on the jacket herself, and we practice different situations and the lightness and quickness of the moves. She asks me to grab her purse from the other room so I can practice picking from purses. I spot the large black bag immediately on a little side table next to a couch with sunken cushions, I go to grab it but freeze when I realize the couch is occupied.

Lance lays stretched out on his back, his breathing is steady and slow, his eyes are closed. His head is pillowed on one arm, the other arm rests on his stomach. I’m surprised to realize that he’s asleep, and it appears that he needs it to from look of the dark shadows under his eyes. His black hair is messy, tousled and looks like it hasn’t been brushed for a long time.