by Hugo Damas
There was a specific fact about the Scavengers, and that was that they were initially gender-less. Or at least, able to be whatever gender people they were swindling preferred. They were given unisex names and unisex clothing, so with the help of an underdeveloped voice, and good acting, they were able to assume whatever gender was more useful for however long they could.
The Street Rat moved out of the city center. Hunger was an issue, so Jamie had swiped some bread, and after an hour, a piece of fruit. It took around two hours of walking to transition to one of the poor districts. The buildings grew flatter and more abandoned, and the people went from moving about to standing around, watching and talking. They were signs that the Street Rat had arrived at the unofficial and yet very well-known territory of the Scavengers.
The homeless, beggars and even unsavory characters of the underworld -- thieves, and killers alike -- were welcomed to inhabit it as it made it look like a normal place. Regarding age difference.
The real residents, however, were all youths.
With the exception of the Teens.
“Hey, Jamie.”
“Hey,” Jamie greeted, smiling.
“Jamieeee!”
“Lookit here, the Street Rat has returned!”
Most everyone mocked the Street Rat, using sarcasm or irony as a greeting, but that was to be expected. Making fun of each other was how they showed camaraderie. Also, Jamie might slip up and get offended, which would harm the Street Rat’s reputation.
The adults all looked at Jamie with interest. Most of them were criminals, with enough relevance in the underworld to have heard of the Street Rat. They would stop talking to make passing comments about Jamie.
“That’s the Street Rat?” Someone said, too far to be heard but whose lips were visible enough to be read. “’s not impressive.”
“None o’ them are,” the smarter friend weighed in, “that’s the whole point, idiot.”
Jamie smiled. The unknown thief had some understanding of the Scavengers. The real trick to their territory was that a lot of the kids there, all equally feeble street urchins, were not affiliated in any way with the Scavengers.
Their guild, for obvious reasons, took as much responsibility as possible for lost little kids. Orphans, kidnapped or otherwise, were received into their several special-care districts around the world.
Under a non-profit company name, of course. That was part of the Teens’s responsibility.
Only a handful of all of these kids actually belonged to the guild, so right now, even Jamie could just be another kid, though not in that instance, since he was walking like he owned the place. He wanted everyone there to know.
As Jamie approached the center of the guild, one of those kids actually came up to walk beside the Street Rat.
“Jamie, good seeing you again.”
“Good to see you too, Jordan,” Jamie greeted.
Jordan had a curly helmet of black hair. Unlike the other boys, Jordan was not so little anymore, being one or two years ahead of Jamie. He sported a lean, tanned body that was noticeably taller than hers.
Jordan had given up on the whole gender-less thing and usually wore shorts and a tight vest that was missing buttons. He was dirtied and dusty like all the rest of them.
Must be getting nervous, Jamie thought, only a couple more years before he’s too grown to stay.
“All the Teens are here,” Jordan said.
Jamie stopped and looked back at him, a bit startled. She was used to talking only to Andy, the Neyerkian Teen. The others, if they were part of the meeting, would phone in.
“All of them? Why? Has something happened?” Jamie asked.
“The world was invaded, I dunno if you noticed,” Jordan teased.
The Street Rat smirked. “Oh, I noticed.” Jamie resumed the walking. “I was there.”
“You were?”
“I was a finalist,” Jamie casually reported, “would’ve won, too, if those things hadn’t crashed the party.” That was a lie, of course. Jamie was friends with Jordan, but she wasn’t against lying to her friends. She wasn’t against lying to anyone.
“Ha, sure you were,” Jordan said.
“But that’s why? Really? The Beasts?”
“The dark ones,” Jordan corrected.
“Don’t call ‘em that,” Jamie scoffed, “sounds like they’re some gods or somethin’. Anyway, Casey told me that putz Schoolboy was hangin’ around here somewhere.”
“Oh yeah, he’s with the Teens. They’re all waiting for you,” Jordan told her.
Jamie smiled in amusement, to hide her concern. “Promising.”
“Remember to be humble, Jamie,” he suggested.
Jamie scoffed. “Excuse me?”
“Shadow Conclave did somethin’ to you.” Jordan was looking at Jamie with a slightly different look than usual. He was looking at her instead of him. “You’re glowing. Lookin’ more arrogant than usual.”
Jamie didn’t know how to feel about that. She did know how to act, though. The Street Rat always knew how to act.
“Putting moves on me now, Jordan? You think that extra layer o’ muscles’s gonna fluster me? Yer not that thick, ya know?” Jamie teased.
He scoffed, sort of shaking in the kind of denial that was pretty weak and hard to believe. “Psh…naaawww. Of course not,” he sarcastically joked, “I’m bein’ serious.”
Jamie laughed. “Go bother some actual pimp-filled little girl, ya green grasshopper, you’ll never get one over on me.”
He laughed too and walked away. “You lookin’ arrogant, I’m tellin’ ya.”
“I’m the Street Rat,” Jamie stated back at Jordan, “I’m lookin’ like it!”
She shook her head and sighed.
Maybe he was right. With how often Jamie got the upper hand by being underestimated, she should be less inclined to do that herself.
Perhaps the Schoolboy really had something big that would screw things up for the Street Rat.
Let’s assume that, Jamie thought to himself, what could it be?
* * *
Soon enough, Jamie was walking by the sentry without saying anything, being allowed to pass. Following that, the Street Rat pocketed hands and slumped a bit, now suddenly nervous.
The frightened little girl climbed the stairs down to the basement which was connected to secret tunnels that not even the Street Rat had ever fully explored, and met with the first of the Teens. The one she was used to dealing with.
He had long blond hair, so long that it brushed against his butt. He looked lean and sickly and with enough unattended facial hair to cover most of his face. That was Andy, a homeless-looking bundle of hair surrounding the kindest blue eyes anyone would ever see.
“Jamie,” Andy greeted.
Jamie hugged him around his thin layered shirt, wanting him to encourage her.
He, however, knew her too well. “Expecting trouble?”
“Well, of course.” Jamie looked up, cutesy and nervous. “I heard all your friends are here, that’s not very normal.”
“Well neither is the world being invaded, is it? This is what you’re going with? Frightened little girl?” Andy asked, unimpressed.
“Well you don’t need to say it like that…” she stepped back and fidgeted, “I hear the Schoolboy’s here, for some reason. I know this is what lowers his guard the most so…”
“Everyone skilled enough is here, Jamie. This is a general meeting: marching orders, big decisions, stupid speeches. So on.” He sounded casual, dismissive, almost insulting, but his eyes told her he loved her deeply and wanted her to be happy. He had learned that when he had been a scavenger working the streets and never switched it off.
Still, what he said deeply changed things.
“Oh.” Jamie nodded and stood up straight, removing his hat with one hand and gesturing with the other. “Right then, ‘m I the last one yer expecting?”
Andy didn’t show any reaction, he was already too used to how the Street Rat could
switch who Jamie was at the drop of a hat.
“Yeah. Come on, and try to be cooperative, alright?” Andy said.
Jamie shrugged. “I’m always cooperative, man.”
On the way, Jamie performed massive reframing within the web of thoughts set up to support his goals. In a meeting like that, almost everything could be achieved, should the Street Rat’s cunning be up to the challenge.
Jamie smiled, looking forward to it.
There were six teens in total, one for each great land. Just like the meeting at the Shadow Conclave, everyone was standing up in a misshapen circle, numbering at around twenty people in total. It was actually great how everyone waited for the Street Rat to close the circle.
“Hey,” Jamie greeted.
“Freakin’ finally.” The Schoolboy, of course. He was in line next to River, the teen from his region of the world. She was a woman in her young twenties who dressed in a provocative corset to look like a working girl. It made it easy to manipulate all the boys like that.
“Is this gonna be about me, now?” Jamie asked.
“You wish,” someone he didn’t know commented, a brown-haired kid younger than Jamie. Jamie didn’t bother replying or even acknowledging him.
“Did you succeed in the competition, Jamie?” Zion, the oldest of the teens, asked. He had grey hair, which still looked thick, and stood the straightest of everyone in there.
“Almost,” the Street Rat said. “I got interrupted by the dark ones.”
Zion nodded. “What has Shadow Conclave asked of you?”
“To make sure the Mayor doesn’t turtle out o’ the fight,” Jamie casually informed. “To make sure Neyerk gets involved.”
“And this benefits us how?” Andy asked, displeased.
“Come now, Andy,” one of the teens, Emery, argued, “really?” Emery was a woman and a mother to many, biological and otherwise. She was overweight and unashamed of herself, like the stained apron that she was wearing evidenced.
“We’re not exactly a guild of fighters, Emery,” Andy argued.
“True, fighters are at the bottom of the social chain. We’re manipulators,” Blake put in, using his deep near-echoing voice. His skin was darker than his clothes, and his stern face was framed by still greying hair.
“Survivors,” Andy shot back with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Everyone knew he was just acting a part. He had been the one to call the meeting in the first place since it was happening in his territory.
The Teens worked oppositely to any other leadership group in the world. They weren’t allowed to argue for their position, only the opposite one. Whoever spoke for an action was against it, and vice-versa. When no one else had anything to say, a decision was made.
The Scavengers hardly ever made bad decisions, but for the uninitiated, the whole process made for a discussion that was hard to follow.
“I agree,” River voiced support. “We should prioritize our safety, that’s how we’ve done so well for ourselves so far.”
“I agree as well,” Sage mentioned. He was a man of very light skin, almost yellow. He was the youngest of them, the newest of the Teens, and had his hair cut haphazardly, looking like he did it by himself while shivering. “The others have their technology and magic and manpower. Let them save the world, what can we offer?”
“Manipulation,” Blake pointed out, apparently unconvinced.
“Yes,” Emery continued. “We can turn some of these powers to the right purpose.”
“Money,” Blake added with a solemn nod. “We’re the richest, that’s a plain fact. We can afford many things nobody else can.”
“This’s a threat to the world,” Andy offered, “there won’t be any manipulation necessary.”
“And money?” River added. “What can money get done that people aren’t already willing to do themselves?”
“Organization…initiative and encouragement,” Blake sounded out. “Yes, I see. I have nothing else to say.”
“Our advantage is children,” Emery voiced out, “we have mainly children, who are perfect for encouraging others not to fight.”
Jamie was surprised. Emery was saying they shouldn’t get involved because they’re mostly made up of kids, and it’s a war, the kids will get hurt. Not only was that not a worthwhile argument, but she was acting completely how she looked. She looked like a mother figure, and she was acting like a mother figure, advocating a mother’s position.
Jamie had to do his best not to glare disapprovingly. This was a Teen that had grown too much. Clearly, the woman was unaccustomed to games and to being detached and self-absorbed.
Emery would likely lose her position soon. Perhaps the Street Rat would be the replacement?
One battle at a time, Jamie, the Street Rat considered, there’s still the whole matter of the battle that’s coming.
“The dark ones don’t care about children,” Sage said, picking up on the argument. “We risk putting them all in harm’s way. And over what?”
“We wouldn’t really involve them in…” Emery struggled to say. She took a sad breath. “They wouldn’t involve themselves in a fight, directly. They know better.”
She dropped her head down in defeat. “Dammit, fine. It’s decided then.”
“Very well,” Zion agreed.
The decision had been made in the presence of witnesses. It usually didn’t need so many, but since it was such a huge decision, they apparently felt it best to have them all present.
Zion looked around at all of them and gave Street Rat the compliment of stopping on her.
“Now we plan.”
Street Rat already had a plan.
There was a lot of meticulousness to making really smart people, as smart as Jamie was, to do what he wanted. Around twenty near intellectual equals were about to discuss what to do, and the Street Rat had to guide the whole thing.
First off, allow the less than unique ideas to come from others.
“I agree with the Conclave’s suggestion,” Sage put forth. “We should put Neyerk to purpose in this fight.”
“That’ll even give us more flexibility here,” one of the children said. “Less law, right?”
“People aren’t very charitable during a war,” Andy pointed out, “so no, nothing about this is lucky or convenient.”
The kid frowned, aware he had screwed up a good chance.
“It isn’t about turning a profit, it’s about there being a next year,” one of the other kids said.
Jamie knew some of them, they were high-profile earners. He supposed the ones he didn’t know were from other regions.
“We already decided to fight,” Emery said, a bit sadly, “and yes, the Street Rat will take care of convincing the Chancellor, but what else? Is that all?”
“We have to agree on what amount to contribute to the Conclave,” Zion put forth.
Whatever is necessary…how to achieve that decision?
“We better hold back on that, they might just rob us blind if we offer too much,” the Schoolboy put forth.
People would expect the Street Rat to argue with him, so it was a good time to nudge the discussion towards the decision he wanted.
“The Shadow Conclave was created with the goal of fighting this war. I don’t think there’s a ‘next’ time, as far as they’re concerned. This is it, they’re going all in, with all their resources. They’ll probably disband once we win,” Jamie argued.
“That might mean they won’t ask for more than they need,” Blake said with a nod. “We should offer assistance without giving any specifics.”
“But we give what they ask anyway,” Sage finished the thought.
“Heh.” The Street Rat smirked mockingly, “knowing them, they’ll even have us spending it and everything, they freakin’ love to delegate.”
“That’s a good point,” River pointed out. “If we know how the money’s being spent then we have nothing to worry about. We should offer to do that for them.”
All t
he teens nodded, along with some of the kids.
What a great idea, Jamie thought inwardly, as if I had thought of it myself.
“We could perhaps spread lies, too,” Bobbie suggested, one of the kids Jamie knew. “Most of the newspapers around the world is on us, we can just switch them out with false news.”
“We can only do that once,” Zion pointed out.
“What better time than a possible last?” Andy asked.
“What news would be beneficial to put out?” Zion asked.
“We could report…differently on the invasion,” Emery said, sounding perturbed. “We could report that they’re closer than people think, to speed up evacuations.”
“Or we could report them taking hits and defeats,” the Schoolboy interjected. “We want people to fight, right? They’ll fight better if they think they can win.”
“But that will only increase the deaths!”
Everyone glanced at Emery, judging her inside their minds. Jamie did the same, it was getting clearer and clearer that she was really no longer one of them.
“The final goal is to put up more resistance, is it not, Jamie?” Zion asked.
The Street Rat didn’t like not being called by the title, but alas, it was common to be informal in the Scavengers. Being formal was almost taboo.
“The more time we gain, the better, that’s what the Conclave said,” Jamie confirmed.
“Then it’s decided,” Zion said, and Emery shrunk almost as much as the Schoolboy puffed.
He really looked the bully. His hair was cut almost too short, and the school uniform was too tight on him, as if he had grown out of it but could not afford a new one. It accentuated his muscles to make him look like, well, a bully. How he ever expected to gain the title of Street Rat was beyond Jamie’s understanding.
Emery, meanwhile, was very much within Jamie’s understanding. And everyone else’s, which was why she was being regarded as having grown too old. In her heart, of course. She felt the responsibility for others, the true sign of being an adult and, ultimately, a true sign she was not a Scavenger.
They were self-absorbed and cared about the family that was their guild only because it was, simply, the best place for them. At the end of the day, they didn’t care about others. They helped children as a means, not as a goal. They weren’t thieves who wanted to help little children, they helped little children because it benefited their thievery. In the bigger scheme, it made them the most powerful guild in the world.