Shoplifter: E.O.W Series, Book 1

Chapter 11: Living in Fear is far from Living.

I sit on a strangers rooftop tying my shoe, tucking my knife deeper into the leather work boot. Noah is on an adjacent rooftop across the street. He hangs from the fire escape, secured by one firmly planted foot and a well muscled arm wrapped around a post. He swings two and fro a little, then waves.  He is enjoying the blissful wind that provides a much needed break from this heat wave. The city has seemed pretty quiet all day, at least in this section. We heard the remnants of a kegger early this morning in a different part of the city. Noah as become a good scout and it would appear that he is over his fear of heights, that usually marks the end of training. I give him the hand signal that tells him it's time to bring it in discuss our sightings.  We Climb down from the buildings and meet at the corner café, sitting in the outside seating. We order water because it's free and take the opportunity to rest our weary legs. Blind has massively increased surveillance in the last few days. We've been climbing sky scrapers and hiking through the city since daybreak. The heat on my neck mixed with the sun's positions tells me that it is about four o'clock. We sit in silence for a bit, after a few minutes of rest my tired pupil begins to speak.

"Still pretty quiet, no one is really out."

"It's just because of the sun, it's the hottest part of the day.'' It was the type of day where the heat made your legs feel like concrete and every movement was like swimming through soup.

''Yeah it's still been a boring day." Contradicts Noah.

"Mondays always are."  This year is shaping up to be a hot summer and it's Only May. Noah smacks a hand down on the table, it would seem that the cloth of his patencie had grown threadbare.

"Why the hell are we even checking the whole city. Day and night, it's all we do. Is this part of training because I know how to scope out a place! I know how to climb a  fucking building." He begins to draw attention. "This is getting ridculous!" I take a patient breath and sigh the anger away from the table. I lean in and speak to him in a hushed but authortative tone.

"Lower your fucking voice." He shuts his mouth, his lower making a smacking sound as he looks at me in defiance and surprise. "And...Damn, okay I don't know if I should tell you this but  you'll make a scene otherwise..." I pause to think. "There is a new gang in the area called Black Crosse and they are starting to get confident about challenging us and are getting into stupid destructive situations situations. They are a danger to us and the city, but mostly to us." Noah, against my expectations stays angry.

"Why do we even care about the city as a whole. All these people would see us arrested and put out of the home we made if they knew us. We should be worrying about ourselves, what has this city ever done for us?"

''Well our nation was forged in this city, the constitiution, declaration of independence, so there's that. This city was the nation's capitol for a time not to mention it's where you live and supplies you with all of your food so I think you should show it some respect and keep it from getting trashed by these assholes. I was born in Philly, I'm not from here but I was born here and because of that I want to see this place protected for the rest of my life. Now, Blind says he knows the leader of this new group. They'd reak havoc on this place if they could have a little fun or turn a profit doing so." To me, defacing things or historical signifigance and making the streets of ths city unsafe is the worse crime a person can commit. Noah doesn't seem to share my level of reverence, he leans in to whisper.

"So how is Blind planning to deal with these people?"  I open my mouth to answer but suddenly feel unsafe in this populated cafe. I feel as if I am being watched. That's when I see the teen boy in a black muscle shirt coming through the glass walled portion of the shop, soon he will exit and be able to get a good look at us. The shirt doesn't give me definitive proof that he's a memeber but it's still a sign and paranoia sets in. If he sees Noah's mark from the doorway where it is clearly visible he will definetly follow us. If he corners us while I have nothing more than  a pocket knife on me, we are screwed. If he's Black Crosse that is. The boy of about nineteen looks in my eyes from behind the window, as if he knows me. I take it as a sign that it's time to leave. He has brown hair barely and inch long and dark blue jeans.  I can tell his black boots are steel toed. His ears are decorated with metal gauges as wide as a coffee stirrer, half the size of mine. He continues to hold my gaze, his eyes are cold and filled with a source of unnamed rage.