Chapter 3 Life skills of a thief

Lewis gets in trouble as Amelia risk's facing a short drop and sudden stop... or in other words a hanging.

Chapter 3

Life skills of a thief

 

The man walked down the road eyes shifting from side to side. He wasn’t sure that he was drunk he wasn’t having any problem standing or keeping his balance until he went faster than a normal paced walk. He knew no matter what time he was home his wife would be angry with him for getting home well after dark when he had to pass through THIS particular neighbourhood. It wasn’t that this part of the city had more robbery’s or thugs but that it had more robbery’s and attacks that happened after dark than any other place in the city. The man heard a scrape and spun toward the sound and swayed a little from the speed. He saw coming toward him a young pretty girl with a leg that she dragged behind her along the ground while she did a sort of hop forward.

“please sir can you spare a coin?” she asked with a voice filled with desperation. The man relaxed she was a simple beggar and with a leg like hers she posed no threat to him. He took in her poor ragged clothes that had so many holes that she almost might as well have been wearing none at all, he looked at her pleading pretty face and remembered the pleading voice and looked at her leg that she dragged behind her useless and he melted he dug into his pocket and froze the girl had moved suddenly toward him on both feet and was now pressing the point of a dagger against his neck.

“don’t be skimpy and give me ALL the coins” to make her point Amelia added slightly more pressure to his neck. The man feverishly turned his pockets inside out and tried to run but stumbled and fell to the ground. He got up again but this time he noticed the line of people silhouetted blocking his way they advanced and on him with all manner of make shift weapons and attacked. When they were finished with him Amelia wandered over to him as he lay on the ground moaning in pain. She had changed out of her rags and was now wearing her less revealing boy’s clothes. The man on the ground was alive but bleeding all over he would survive but would be in terrible pain all night until he was found and his wounds could fester if he was left that long unattended. Not many people that lived on the street cared if their victims survived or not but some did. Amelia was part of the few that did care and she had learnt some basic skills from the healer that was her father figure.

“Go and see Murry” she whispered to the man gently “he can help you more than me. But I can at least clean your wounds” as she did that she wondered at how her father figure, Murry the healer had said not to worry about the guard finding out about him and revealing his name to “people”. She finished cleaning and bandaging his wounds then looked down at the man he was still moaning in pain. She slapped him on the side of the face and he stopped looking at her too terrified to make a sound.

“I’m not going to lie to you. This is gonna hurt” she told him and then punched him in the side of the head and darkness enveloped the man as the band of thieves melted into the shadows to await another victim. The whole operation had taken only a few seconds. A couple of minutes if you counted Amelia’s administrations.

 

***

 

“Amelia! Amelia wait!” she sighed deeply and turned to face Lewis. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him it was simply that she was busy. Cameron had unfortunately found her stash of coins and claimed it as his own which meant now she had only a few hours to steal enough money to pay him to stay otherwise she would be on the street for a few months with no shelter at night. “Where are you going?” Lewis asked

“I’m gonna steal a few coins at the market” Amelia told him.

“You CANT its broad daylight and we owe Camron our rent soon”

“That’s why I have to go now. Camron found my stash of money”

“you’ll get caught”

“you know me I’m the best pickpocket in this city I’ll be fine”

“The reason there aren’t many pickpockets is because they all get caught you know this Amelia!”

“I haven’t been caught yet” Amelia told him stubbornly. “I swear if I’m ever caught I will stop”

“if your ever caught you will hang Amelia. You won’t get another chance to pickpocket.”

“well I would have kept my promise then” and with that Amelia slipped out into the alley and from there the busy street and made her way to the market.

***

 

Amelia slipped the Razor sharp tip of her dagger into the bottom of a passers coin pouch and let the coins fall to the busy street before retrieving them. Many thieves, Amelia knew, had been caught simply because they had caught the coins as they fell the tinkle at the victims waist was audible above the noise of the crowd and someone following with their hand underneath the coin pouch was a sight hard to miss. By allowing the coins to hit the ground the victim is further away, can’t hear the coins hitting the ground over the noise and no one will notice someone picking a coin up of the ground, which is what Amelia did now then, as a shout of surprised dismay came from the direction her victim had gone, Amelia headed off effortlessly pulling a loose but full coin pouch as she went from the belt of a passer-by without them being any the wiser. Suddenly Amelia heard a shout in a nearby street and she headed over curious to the cause of the commotion. She was surprised to see Lewis running as fast as he could down the street with three city guards and a merchant chasing after him. Amelia immediately joined the chase and as she cut across the guard who was last in the small group chasing Lewis she fell scratching herself as a cry of pain came from the guard and he fell Amelia rose from the ground quickly and melted into the shadows of an ally returning the dagger she had used to cut the legs of the guard as she fell to its sheath, then Amelia started running again through the ally’s and streets to catch up to the small group. Lewis was fast and was able to stay ahead but while the gap between Lewis and those chasing him wasn’t getting any smaller it wasn’t getting any wider either and soon other merchants and customers would start to hinder him. Amelia tripped the next guard easily going unnoticed as he fell to the ground, but as she did she saw a man reach out in a half-hearted attempt to catch Lewis by the upper arm. It slowed him but Lewis managed to get free and continue running. Amelia came up behind the merchant and savagely pushed him into a group of mercenaries who immediately surrounded him yelling. They probably wouldn’t hurt him but they wouldn’t let him continue the chase… probably. More merchants and shoppers were reaching out for Lewis now slowing him down considerably the final guard chasing him reached out for him. Thinking quick Amelia used her thieving skills to pull a dagger from a nobles belt and threw it under arm at the guard. It struck him behind the knee rather than the thigh were Amelia had planned but the end result was the same. The guard went down clutching his leg and Amelia dashed past him and around the corner she saw Lewis look back and seeing no immediate threat slow a little and smile then as he saw her his smile faded and his head dropped. Amelia stormed up to him grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into a nearby alley ripping his shirt a little.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Amelia hissed at him Savagely. Lewis mumbled something incoherent. Amelia tipped her head to one side her anger forgotten for the moment “what?”

“I was trying to help you” Lewis mumbled again although he was coherent this time. Amelia’s anger returned.

“Help! Help, you were almost caught! You’ve never picked a pocket in your life let alone in broad daylight, You haven’t learnt to move unseen! What was it you said to me before? You’ll get caught! You’ll hang! What the hell were you thinking?! That was almost you!”

“Sorry”

“Sorry is that all you can say? I could have been caught just helping you!” at this point Lewis’s own anger flared up.

“I didn’t ask for your help” he retorted.

“You wanted someone to help you!”

“No I didn’t!”

“Then you’re an Idiot and a fool!” they both fell silent for a moment then Lewis spoke in a softer tone.

“I’m Sorry your right I did need and want help I was only trying to help you get your payment.” Amelia sighed her anger dying

“I know I’m sorry too I shouldn’t have yelled at you for trying to help. And speaking of payment we better head back if we want to pay on time” they both set of at a fast walk winding their way through the ally’s and side streets.

“By the way” Lewis said suddenly “here” he pulled out a half full coin purse and handed it to Amelia.

“you should have half” she said “you stole it”

“I’ve already taken half out and I’m keeping the other bag” Amelia laughed.

“How did you get so much?”

“Well” Lewis said “the first I got from a merchant who saw me and chased me with some guards the second I got of the first man who tried to grab me while being chased. Amelia laughed again.

“That second one was risky but if it’s done right its very rewarding I’ve done it a few times myself…” then after a moment of thought added sourly “though I’m usually chased and grabbed for a different reason.” Lewis just nodded his head in understanding indicating that Amelia need not elaborate. All the orphans and thieves (particularly the females) were regularly raped. It was a way for the other men and women to get pleasure without having to pay a prostitute at a brothel which meant they could also avoid being found out by their partners if another customer of the prostitutes talk. What made it even easier was that the guards didn’t care and looked the other way or even took the victim after the first prosecutor. They picked up their pace and jogged the rest of the way to the apparently abandoned house that hid the other thieves.