Above and Below

Intro Part 1

That's what we are, by the way. Not loners or gang members. Just losers and throw-outs living on the stinky side of the Bilge, the underground river running through Below. Me and the kids are picks working for a man named Bower. Pickpockets, that is. We run shifts in all the ganglands close to the Bilge, on the streets, in Alleytown, even in Above. Most of the time, Bower gives us lessons one-on-one, taking us with him on his shift. Other days, he disappears and comes back with a new kid. If they last, they get a thief name; if they don't, they get tossed back on the streets.

Connie, Rob, Trix, Thug, Burg, and I make up the team. Thug and Burg usually go for brute strength, bumping into their customer and visibly taking their money. Then Burg runs off cause he's faster, and Thug stays behind to make sure he isn't followed. Trix is a classic sneak thief, in and out before you know she's there, always leaving something the same weight behind for you to find later. Connie flirts with her customers until she's close enough to relieve them of their cash and leaves them too distracted with her empty promises of tomorrow to notice what's happened until she's gone. Rob cuts purses and pockets, and then dashes off before he can be caught. And me? Well, I do magic tricks, or tell stories, or just strike up a conversation. Always moving when I see their eyes about to stray, always knowing if my move will work or not. Some days it feels like cheating, on others I don't care.

After we're dressed and ready, we meet out in the kitchen to get our assignments. Everyone gets a shriveled half-apple and a bowl of porridge for breakfast. It's not much, but it's much better than what most Bilgerats get.

Bower is there already, his deft old fingers tossing us our apples. His brown face is creased with smile lines and he laughs when he sees us. I hear it twice.

"Good morning!" he calls, plopping down at the table and steepling his fingers together.

"Would you mind getting me my notebook, Trix?" his phantom asks, gesturing to the table. He only gets to "me" before I hand it to him. He smiles a mischievous smile at me and takes it. "Now, now, lets see. Rob, you have customer road in the morning, and crooked road in the afternoon. Trix, I want you to tutor Thug in the Yellow gang territory today, and Connie, you and I will take the Oranges. That leaves you, Burg, and Pockets."

His smile widens.

"I want each of you to start broadening your skills rather than just learning your individual method. So, Pockets, you'll lead in the morning, and Burg will lead in the afternoon. How's that?"

Mumbled yeses and goods echo around the room, but I see a few frowns that can only have to do with the "broadening of our skills".

I'm not annoyed though; Bower knows what he's doing, and Burg is pretty nice, for all his tough looks.

Muck finds us about two seconds after we step off the bridge, flashing his famous smirk and tossing a sealed potion vial from hand to hand. He's supposed to be seven years older than me, but half the time he acts way younger. That vial probably packs enough explosives to blow up the bridge, but since he isn't about to drop it, I force myself to keep my mouth shut.

Seeing my worried look, his smirk grows and he calls "Tell me if something happens!" In reply, I stick my tongue out at him and then pull it back in to scowl. Muck is the only person who knows about my ability. There was a time when I hoped he could explain it to me, since he's a member of the green gang; the alchemists.