Shields

Prologue: I Start My Career

I slipped through the alleyway toward the streets and eased into the flow of the crowds. It'd be easy pickings today. There were hundreds of people running around everywhere and I quickly lifted three wallets off of three younger business men. They could spare it for an orphaned kid. It wasn't as if they didn't have plenty. Their fancy suits proved that well enough.

I started moving again and my eyes lit on someone in dark grey pants and a black suit top. I ducked and pushed through the crowd toward him. He could probably spare something.

I'd just stuck my hand into his pocket when he spoke. "If you're going to steal something, make sure you aren't noticed first. Also, you should get better at lifting people's wallets. I could feel you digging around in my pocket the minute you tried to steal from me," he said.

He was quiet so that no one noticed us, but I was petrified none-the-less. My feet were stuck fast to the ground as if they'd somehow become the roots and burrowed deep into the cracked sidewalk.

The man turned to look at me full on and pulled my hand out of his pocket. "Besides," he continued, "I don't have my wallet in that pocket. It's in the inside pocket of my suit jacket. But it's truly amazing that with your lack of skills, you managed to lift three wallets off of unsuspecting business men so quickly. You do have potential, I suppose."

I backed up slightly, unsure of what this was going to mean for me. If I was thrown into juvenile detention, no one would be able to take care of Thomas and he'd be all alone. He wouldn't use up the small stash of money we'd accumulated too quickly, but it was already running low and it wouldn't be that long before he did. He'd be worried sick about me too, and probably he'd get found and stuck into a state orphanage too. I couldn't let that happen to him.

The man watched me with intense green eyes. A scar ran down his left cheek and his mouth was a thin line, not a smile, but not a frown either. He towered over me, probably at least six and a half feet tall. Half of his face was hidden by the shadows cast by the buildings around us, giving him a sinister look.

Finally, I managed to speak. "I'm sorry, sir, I just... I need the money. My dad's a drunk and he used up all of the money on his alcohol... me and my brother tried to earn some, but I'm only twelve and no one wants to hire me for anything..." I hated lying, but I didn't want to tell him I was an orphan. Ending up in an orphanage was the one thing I feared more than anything else. If that happened to me, Thomas could get taken away from me and I'd lose everything and everyone I'd ever cared about in my life.

"Don't lie. I know you're an orphan," the man said. "I can see in how thin you are and how you react to things. You aren't in school either, and it's not nearly the time for you to be out yet. Besides, I've been watching you."

I bit my lip. He'd read me so easily. I didn't like that, and I didn't like the stare that he fixed me with when I didn't reply either.

Finally, I came up with the only reply I could think of that might not prompt him to arrest me. "How long have you been watching me?"

He chuckled. "I've been watching you for at least a week. I saw you lift the wallet of someone I know and it interested me. Not many people could get his wallet, so I figured that you must be pretty skilled at it. You weren't as good as I thought, but maybe with a bit of help..."

I shifted uncomfortably. At least a week? Was he going to have me arrested for stealing his friend's wallet? What would happen to me and Thomas?

"I'm sorry for stealing your friend's money, sir... I'd give it back, but we probably spent all of the money already and I probably threw the wallet away already," I said seriously.

A broad smile came over the man's face, taking away bit of the sinister appearance. "Don't worry about it. The guy's a jerk anyhow. He deserved it. How about we go have lunch together and talk?"

"Sir? Are you a business man?" I asked. Do I really want to go anywhere with someone I don't know anything about? I thought about that for a moment. Definitely not.

"Not exactly..." he hesitated for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a badge. He showed it to me quickly and then shoved it back into his pocket. "Keep it a secret, boy," he said, all traces of his smile gone.

I'm so dead... I'd tried to lift a wallet off of a Secret Service agent. I wasn't going to get off of that lightly... I could get Thomas in trouble too, if they decided to say he was my accomplice.

My knees nearly buckled, but the man just smiled. "You are a strange kid. You seem to care quite a lot what happens to you and your brother, but you're going around lifting wallets. You must have a lot of problems in your life to stoop that low."

I looked at my sneakers and felt my cheeks grow hot. "You could say that, sir."

"Please, just call me Brikan," he said.

"Sir? What are you going to do to me?" I asked, afraid of the answer. He wants to treat me to lunch... Is he just going to call the cops and then keep me there until they arrive? His answer was probably scarier than juvenile detention would have been.

"I'm going to train you."

Later, I would think back on this moment and wonder if perhaps I should have refused that offer. It would have spared me all of the chaos, betrayal and loss that I was quickly tangled in.