After the tall one left the cafe, I tailed Scar, following him to what I hoped would be the next drop. And he didn’t disappoint. With a quick swipe the bag, all the stolen goods were quickly in the hand of the next person.
I smiled.
It was Kamal. Could he be the boss? No way. He was too young. I’d stay with him to the next drop and hopefully find out who he reported to.
I followed him to the main road, and watched with dismay as he walked up to a motorcycle. There was no way I was going to be able to tail him if he got on that thing. Sure enough, he shoved a helmet on his head, threw his leg over the machine and sped off. A hot rock seemed to sear my gut as he pulled away, but it cooled in a rush as I realized that I had a good idea where I could find him later. I was willing to bet he met up with his friends at the fountain every day.
It was time to become a pickpocket.
I made my way to the metro and to my apartment to change into Eva. I got rid of the long brown wig and the stylish clothes and put on a pair of Converse, some baggy jeans, and a baggy T-shirt. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail that I pushed through the back of my baseball hat so a thick blond wave bounced behind me and a flash drive into my front pocket. I had a half-formed plan of what I was going to do with it. I just hoped I’d know when the time was right.
I rushed to the fountain in Halle around four p.m., but none of the skateboarders were there. Instead, it was filled with younger kids and their moms, many with ice cream. The kids ran about and put their hands in the fountain, while the moms talked with each other, keeping one eye on their children at all times.
This time I sat on the back side of the cement benches so I wasn’t looking at the fountain. Instead, I was looking directly at a McDonalds. The smell of french fries wafted past and an urge to go buy some hit me. I’d told myself that while in France, I would not resort to eating American food. I wanted to immerse myself in the culture. But it was tempting; McDonalds was everywhere.
The mothers and children left, most likely heading home to make dinner, and the older skaters slowly trickled past me into the fountain area. Even the tall boy came today. I could only hear them once they walked into the inner ring but even then not perfectly since there were bushes, flowers, and cement between us. However, I did catch a few interesting tidbits. They worked l’Orangerie and the Louvre most of the time and no one liked working l’Orangerie. There were also far more pickpockets than the ones I’d already identified.
I’d thought about bringing a skateboard and skating my way into their group, but that would take time I didn’t have. Besides, I wasn’t that great of a skater, and they were far more advanced than I was. What if they didn’t let me join them?
Kamal was on constant pick patrol. It seemed his eyes and mind were always looking for the next opportunity to swipe something from someone, but while he skated, he never acted on it.
One of the younger pickpockets headed out. But before he left, he casually rummaged through Kamal’s bag and pulled out a fresh bag. The boy then picked through the bag he’d brought earlier and shoved a few items from it into the new bag. Kamal watched him the whole time. So, this was how a lot of his crew got their bags for the next week. Another left, and Kamal watched him too. A plan formed in my mind, and I texted Ace to let him know about it. I knew he wouldn’t be able to do much to help—he and Halluis were both busy with Siron’s line of investigation—but what I was doing was risky. I needed backup or at least for someone to know where I was and what I was planning in case things went wrong. My body tensed in preparation.
The second I saw the next pickpocket take her bag, I stood and moved toward the girl. She put the bag with a moon embroidered on it over her shoulder and headed for the nearest exit, waving goodbye to the others. I caught up with her at the exit and pretended to stumble into her. As I did, she lurched forward, arms outstretched to catch herself, and I snatched the purse off her shoulder, and took off. I ducked my head down and prayed Kamal had watched her just like he had watched the other two.
I didn’t have to go far before I heard pounding feet behind me. My instinct was to speed up and get the heck away from Kamal, but I had to let him catch me in order to get his attention and hopefully become a part of his team. To do that, I had to run until I was far enough away from the fountain that we would be alone, away from the others.
I hurried around several corners, leading him a few blocks away. He was right behind me.
Arms appeared and surrounded my chest, effectively stopping me in my tracks. Just as suddenly, I was thrown against the stucco wall of a building, hands pressing my back and shoulders against it. Air flew out of my mouth.
“What exactly did you think you were doing?” Kamal demanded, the spicy scent of curry
