Chasing Shadows

A story following a pickpocket who lands in a world of corruption after he unintentionally steals an incredibly important document.

"How was he supposed to know? What could have possibly warned him of the consequences of that one leather wallet?

That rich-looking man in expensive clothing seemed like the rest of them. Pompous bastards who could afford a new wallet if their former one happened to disappear, bastards who could buy the entire world, bastards who had.

He had no way of knowing that this one particular bastard happened to keep important and 'oh-so-top-secret' bits of paper in his wallet, he threw the damn thing in the bin as soon as he had the money. It was nothing to him but a scrap of paper, a scrap of paper he couldn't even read.

That particular scrap of paper happened to hold a list of the most powerful men in government, men who also happened to be involved in one of the biggest scandals in history. He was just downright unlucky.

He'd been dragged from his soggy cardboard box, baggy clothes and all only to be chucked into a dimly lit cell that smelled strangely like a mixture of bodily fluids. God knows how long he'd been there.

He was just a kid, a scared 15-year-old pickpocket.

At first, they'd only asked him where the wallet was, after that, they just got angrier with every "I don't bloody know" he gave. The questioning turned to intimidation which eventually turned into a forced agreement and the very rare piece of stale bread.

He steals for them now, not wallets or watches, documents, crisp white paper that cut his fingers.

Paper printed with government logos and dark lines of ink."

Basically some spys adopts this kid. Reluctant father figures everywhere.