After thinking about it for a long time, I figured that the airport was the best place to do this… because of the tourists. They were less likely to be cautious or to pursue a pickpocket and more likely to cower in fear if they ever met one, so I had a lesser chance of being chased around. Besides, there were so many people here with so much luggage. If I played my cards right, I just might get away with this.
Swallowing, I continued my search. Most of the people were in casual clothes, chattering away… they all seemed to be in a hurry. Some were obviously together, maybe couples, one man had his arms around a dog… a couple of others were standing, waiting for a taxi.
I sighed, stopping abruptly.
No one looked rich.
Well… I thought as my eyes zeroed in on a man in an expensive-looking suit with a wristwatch that glittered gold under the bright lights.
Not giving myself any time to think, I began to walk towards him. He was on the sidewalk, in front of a taxi, near another group of people and he was talking to a man. Judging from the other man’s clothes and the cap he had on his head, I surmised that he could be the driver of that taxi. But why was a taxi driver arguing with a rich man in a suit?
Soon, I got close enough to hear the conversation. It was something about giving wrong directions and not getting paid. But I didn’t stop to listen to them.
Tugging the cap to make sure the upper part of my face was well covered, I hunched my shoulders and stopped to observe the rich man. Sparing a second’s look at the face, I tried to decide whether or not he was a tourist. For some reason, his wallet was in his left hand which hung limply from his side.
If I suddenly snatched that wallet from his hands and ran away, what were the possibilities that he’d run after me?
I honestly didn’t know.
But he was rich, wasn’t he? Surely, a simple wallet holding maybe a couple of hundred dollars shouldn’t mean that much to him…
With an inward nod, I gave the go signal and shuffled towards him. He was still deeply engaged in what seemed to be an angry argument with the taxi man and, in a swift move, I shot out a hand, closed it around the cool leather wallet, and my limbs immediately kicked into motion.
“Wh-what… Hey!” I heard his garbled shout, but I didn’t dare stop. I only had to keep moving, for Freddie and Mercy’s sake. So I kept pumping my arms as my legs ate the distance, taking me away from him.
His shouts continued. The way was littered with people still waiting for taxis and I dodged them all until I found myself moving away from the airport… and from him.
As the adrenaline rushed through my veins, my hoodie, under which I trapped my hair, threatened to whip off my head and I reached a hand to hold it firm. Navigating my way through the buildings, I continued running until, minutes later, I dodged into the alleyway that would finally lead me home.
Then I slowed down, chest heaving as my breath came out in short, uneven gasps.
Whipping my head around, I searched behind me.
No one followed me, right? I am safe now…
Slumping my shoulders, I gasped repeatedly, trying to calm my breathing down. His wallet was still in my hands and I raised it up to look at it, a bittersweet feeling in my chest.
“You bloody thief!” A cry snapped my attention towards the left and I saw, to my utmost horror, the target who I was supposed to have lost minutes ago. His coat was off, tie askew, hair ruffled on his head and he kept gasping, his chest heaving.
He actually chased after me?
“Aah!” I screamed, immediately turning around. But a damn stone had magically planted itself on my way and my left foot crashed against it, sending waves of pain through my body. Within seconds, I felt the air slap against my face as my body tumbled to the ground and I landed against the hard, unforgiving cement floor with a muffled ‘oof’.
I could only let out a groan before I felt a large manly hand clamp around my shoulder, before my face was turned around and I came face-to-face with my new nemesis.
Mr. Target.
“You really thought you could just steal from me, didn’t you?” His voice, deeper than it had been when I last heard it, snapped at me and I shut my eyes, my shoulders slumping.
It was now the end of the world. Chest thumping, I didn’t even try to struggle. Maybe that would make it more difficult to convince him not to send me to jail.
Then he reached a hand up and grabbed the cloth on my face, jabbing it down. Swallowing, I opened my eyes, and looked at him as glassy tears clouded my vision.
And then I saw the confused cock of his eyebrow as he stared at me and roved his eyes around my face, going down my eyes, nose… stopping at my mouth.
Blinking, he raised his hand again, slower this time, and took the hoodie off my head.
My hair tumbled down to my shoulders and, widening his eyes, he jerked back his hand.
“A woman?”
Chapter Three
Frank
When the gods of fate decided to create this year, this day, or even this moment, I wonder if they had a good laugh imagining how I would react to what they had in store for me. In fact, they must be laughing right now as I opened the front door and inhaled sharply as I came face-to-face with the smiling, angelic the woman who’d shocked me two days ago.
The whole story of how we got here had been pretty ironic. First, she thieved my wallet, then she led me
