He tapped his fingers on the stucco wall, clenched his teeth and said, “Maybe because any number of rivals wouldn’t hesitate to blow your head off and throw you into the Seine for filching in their territory.”
I sneered. “You’re kidding, right?”
He shook his head, slow and even. “No.”
I gulped. “I didn’t know.”
“Listen, what’s your name?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, making a show of considering if I should trust him. “Eva,” I said slowly.
“Where are you from, Eva?”
“Portugal.”
“Well, Eva from Portugal, I’m Kamal. People don’t mess with me, and they don’t mess with my employees. If you work for me, you won’t have to worry about rival groups. I can give you the protection you need and give you safe territories to pick to your heart’s content.”
I gave him an exaggerated frown and nodded. “Well, all right. I guess I’ll give you a try.” I ran my hands over the stucco on the wall behind me.
“Not so fast.” He stepped back. “First off, I’ll be giving you a try and second, you only get one chance.”
“But I thought you just said—”
“I need to see you do it again before I’ll officially take you on. Let’s head back over to the street by the fountain.” He looked at his watch and I looked at the sky, the moon was up high now. “There should still be plenty of opportunities for you to do your thing with all those restaurants lining the street and people coming and going. It’s only ten, so the place should be hopping.”
You had to love the French and their late night eating habits. I glanced at the entrance to the alley, excited to be getting out of this dark place. “What? You want to watch me steal something?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Yes. How else am I supposed to vet you?” He raised his dark, thick eyebrows, his eyes piercing mine.
“Touché.”
He threw his arm out, inviting me to lead the way, which I did. As we walked, I fingered the flash drive I’d tucked in my pocket. I walked slowly up the path, observing the people eating at the tables.
He came up beside me, and the heat from his body brought attention to the chill in the air. He put his hand on my arm, slowing me down. “See the woman with the red scarf?”
“I see her.”
“Do you see what’s sitting on the table next to her?”
“Her wallet?”
“Go get it.”
Apprehension slammed into me. I’d wanted to fake-steal the drive in my pocket, not really steal from an innocent bystander. This lady’s only crime was eating her dinner too early to be native to France.
“Very funny. You’re crazy. She’d catch me, and I’d end up in prison.” I tried to slow my racing heart.
“Here’s how it’s going to go down. I’ll distract her, and you’ll lift it.”
I looked at my feet then glanced at him. “I’m afraid,” I whispered. I had to make him see some weakness in me so he could see me grow under his tutelage.
“Good. That fear makes it more fun. Besides, if you get seen, we’ll just book it out of here to the metro.” He motioned to his board. “They’ll never catch us.”
I bit my lip and rubbed my hands down my pant legs as I looked around, watching people walk past, hurried and not paying anyone attention. He urged me forward. Did I want to do this? No. Would I do this? Yes. My stomach soured. I needed to get over it. This had to be done and the woman would be okay. But would I be okay? What if something went wrong? I had no backup. This would be yet another mark against me. Another item of proof for Siron that I was reckless. Another thing to make Jeremy wonder what he ever saw in me. I had to be perfect. No mistakes.
Kamal moved to the other side of the lady and started to talk to her. I couldn’t hesitate, but I also couldn’t breathe. I reached over and grabbed. I almost stopped once I was a few meters away, but Kamal was suddenly there, walking beside me. “Did you get it?”
“Yes.” I said it in a breathy whisper, the wallet palmed in my hand. I looked back—a completely novice thing to do.
Kamal walked in front of my gaze. “Don’t look back. Never look back.”
“Ok.”
“It was nice of her to leave it out for you, wasn’t it?” He grinned.
I chuckled, slipping the flash drive into the folds of the wallet. We turned a corner and I said, “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”
The drive fell out as I opened the wallet, and I chuckled when I bent over to pick it up. “Great. A flash drive.” After making sure I was standing in his line of sight, I threw it toward the trash can behind Kamal. He reached up with a swift hand and snagged it.
“Whoa! Never throw anything out. Give everything to me.” He shook the drive in front of him.
“Oh, sorry. I thought a used flash drive wouldn’t be worth anything.” I feigned stupidity.
“You’d think that. But these drives can be very valuable depending on who they were taken from and what information is found on them.” He tossed it in the air and let it drop back to his hand.
“Huh. Really?” A jolt of expectation ran through me.
“Yeah. I’ve got a guy who loves getting these things.”
My heart sped up a little at that. What if he’d already passed Dufor’s drive to his guy? If it had already moved on to the next tier, it would make everything that much harder.
“So are you going to give it to him today? Does he give you the cash right away?” I leaned forward eagerly, letting the strain in my voice come through as excitement about getting some money.
He laughed. “My drive guy’s been out of town for a while, but if—and it’s a big if—there’s something on here, you’ll get your cut in a week when he gets back.”
Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. Chances were Kamal still had the drive. A countdown started in my head—I had a week to locate the drive and retrieve it before Kamal passed it along. That meant next Wednesday was D-Day, the last day the drive would be in play.
I didn’t want him to get suspicious, though, so I steered the conversation back to what Eva would be most concerned with. “My cut?”
“Yeah. Thirty percent.”
I let my jaw drop and narrowed my eyes, like any savvy person living on the street would do. She wanted maximum results from her work. “That hardly seems right. I’m the one who did the work.”
“The only reason the lift happened was because of me.” He didn’t tilt his head in a playful way, instead he leaned slightly toward me in a show of aggression. He was serious.
It took all my courage to stay rooted to the spot. Nervous energy caused me to raise an eyebrow and laugh. To cover it up, I said, “You got me there. I guess you’ll be the one to sell it, huh?” He was good. He must be a lower level leader of some sort, that or he was mimicking what he’d seen the bosses do.
He nodded.
“I hate to have to wait that long, but I guess I don’t have a choice.” Trying to seem casual and still feeling nervous, I swung my arms out in a happy, awkward gesture and then clasped my hands together at my chest.
He raised his eyebrows and then snorted while he opened the wallet and pulled out what must have been a couple hundred US dollars.
I moved close. “And how much of that do I get?”
He handed me eighty dollars. I jumped up and down. “I’m rich! I’m rich!”
“You see, you pick the right wallets with the right protection, and the payoff can be superb.” I wondered what his history was. Kamal was not your ordinary street urchin who fell into pickpocketing because of desperation. I could tell by the way he spoke, he was educated.
“Listen,” he said. “I’ll be in touch later about a possible job with the crew. There are no guarantees, understand?” He smiled and backed away a few steps before turning around and disappearing down a dark alley.
He hadn’t truly disappeared; he was watching me. I could feel him. I knew he wasn’t going to just let me go my way a
nd take my “application” to his boss. He had to know I was who I said I was. Perfect. It was generally a strict no-no to let anyone know where you lived when on a mission. But I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t call Division to set up a decoy apartment, and I didn’t know anyone to use for cover. I’d have to make it work. For once, I was glad my apartment was nothing special, and in a shady part of town. It would fit with my Eva alias as well as it had fit Gabrielle’s. Interns were also poor. I jumped the turnstile at the metro and took the train home.
One of the good things about my training as a spy was learning how to be still. I could still myself from the inside out and be hyper aware of my surroundings. That allowed me to feel for potential threats, including being followed, without changing what I was doing. I couldn’t tell right away where he was, but I knew I was being followed. Kamal was pretty good at this.
I kept one part of my mind focused on Kamal’s presence, then let the rest of my mind mull over what I’d learned. Kamal had a guy he sold the drives to, and that guy was out of town for another week. So, Kamal most likely had the drives in his possession, but where? I’d have to find his apartment, sneak in, and see if they were there. Sneaking into Kamal’s apartment would be much easier if I had Division’s blessing and their gadgets.
I texted Ace. Drive still in play. Getting close.
I was itching to turn the tail back on to Kamal after he saw me go into my apartment and get to bed, turning out all the lights, but I couldn’t risk it. Not yet. If he was good, he’d wait somewhere outside my place all night. I’d lie low tonight, but I couldn’t wait too long because his buyer would be back in a week. If the drives weren’t in Kamal’s apartment, I needed some time to figure out where else he might keep them.
Chapter 7
I dressed as Eva the next morning, certain Kamal would be tailing me all day. I picked up some croissants at a boulangerie in the morning, not even bothering to act like I was happy. I ate a normal one and then indulged in a pain au chocolat. A croissant filled with chocolate? Yes, please.
I started lifting a few things from people as I walked along the sidewalk, tucking them into my shoulder bag as I went. I had to block off my nagging conscience with the knowledge that this was for the greater good. This would give me the opportunity to get the drive. Not for the first time, I wished we knew what information Dufor had had. Whatever it was, it had caused Dufor to risk his life. I thought of the doodles I’d found in his office. Something about them nagged at me. Henri deserved better, he’d written. For Henri, I must. Was he really just talking about himself in the third person? I wished I understood him better. I pulled out my phone and sent a coded message to Ace.
Can you do some digging on Dufor? Find out about his hobbies, his life, his family. I don’t know how it will help, but it might.
A moment later, I got the reply. I’m on it.
I nodded, satisfied. I could trust Ace to come through for me. It might not mean anything in the end, but I couldn’t ignore any possible source of a lead. It had already been four days since the drive had been stolen. Too long.
I made sure to send out feelers for anyone other than Kamal watching me. Now that I was actually picking, I would hate to catch the ire of some competing gang. I picked my way to Mad Dogs, where I got a turkey crepe for lunch. My bag was getting heavy, so I headed back to the apartment, hoping Kamal had seen enough.
Walking out of the metro, I could feel Kamal moving in. I skipped up a few flights of stairs and then stopped to lean against a short wrought iron fence and watch some kids at the small park in the area. The entire park was in shadow thanks to the big trees lining it. Old men sat at a table and talked while moms sat together watching their kids run and play. A couple of dog owners walked past with their dogs. I felt Kamal approach me and stop.
“Hey, Eva.”
I whipped around, pretending I was surprised to see him.
“Kamal?”
He stood tall, firm, like a boss. He’d cut his hair at some point during the day. He looked handsome. “Are you serious about wanting a job?” His stare was piercing, like he was trying to uncover any possible deception.
“Of course.” I looked him directly in the eyes.
“Well, I may have one for you.”
“Seriously? I passed?”
He rubbed his closely trimmed beard. “Look, I’ve been watching you all day and good grief. You picked in three different groups’ territories today, including mine, and if you’d been seen by anyone but me, you’d have been dead. I told you that yesterday.”
He looked at me like he wanted an explanation about why I’d risk it knowing what I knew. “Well, I didn’t know if you’d really be getting back to me or not. I have to make a living, you know. I couldn’t just sit around and wait for you. Besides, I was really careful.” I thought about my team and how it might have been a blessing that I wasn’t “hooked up” with them at the moment. Kamal and anyone who worked with him wouldn’t be able to discover them.
“I can’t argue that you aren’t good. You are, and I think the only reason I was able to see what you were doing is because I knew you were doing it. But mark my words, if you keep going on your own, you’ll be discovered and these leaders—they aren’t forgiving. You’ll find yourself dead or tortured in terrible ways if they find you. A kid, only twelve, was discovered stealing a bag in another group’s area, and they stabbed stakes into his hands and feet and hung him on a wall. He was probably just some poor kid looking for a way to get some food, and they tortured him. You need to watch your step and follow the rules if you join our team.”
I looked at my feet and swayed a little as if in deep thought. “So, why didn’t you hurt me or kill me or something when you found me?”
His dark eyes narrowed and he pressed his thick lips together. “I’m not sure exactly. Maybe it was because you were so good at what you were doing. I mean, you aren’t perfect, but you said you’ve only been doing this a little over a week and if you’re this good already, I can hardly imagine what you’ll be like in a couple of months. I picked up Daniel last year after he tried to steal from me. He’s one of my best pickers now. You remind me of him. Do you want to join or not?” His face was unreadable.
“If you want me, you can have me. If there are people out there just waiting for me to slip up so they can kill me, I need to be on your team. I mean, I really need the money.”
“You’ll be on trial for a while. You’ve impressed me, but the big bosses need to be convinced. And you’re pretty inconsistent right now, which makes me think maybe you’re just lucky. We need to change that and take luck out of the equation.”
“Well, maybe you should introduce me to the leader.” I could only hope to meet the person above him.
“No. You don’t need to do that. In fact, I’ll be your only contact. Just do a good job and bring your stuff to me and everything will be all right. I’ll show you where our territories are and teach you how it all works over the next day or two. After that, you should be golden.”
“Wait. Are you saying I have to work for free for a while?” I threw my hands out to my sides.
“I didn’t say that. I’ll pay you and be your only contact.”
I nodded. “Okay. Thanks for finding me. If you hadn’t, I guess I could have been dead by next week.” I pressed my lips together and pushed them out in a pout.
“You’re good, but sometimes you’re a little sloppy, a little reckless. We’ll practice together. You’re a natural. It shouldn’t be too painful.”
He seemed so nice. So kind. How could he be a part of a vicious pickpocket gang?
“But only if you acknowledge the fact that there are distinct boundaries and rules for each picking group. Even in our area, there are rules.” His voice turned stern. “And you don’t break the rules.”
“How will I ever learn all those rules and the boundaries and stuff?”
“I’ll teach you. And it’s easy to know who is in what group. Each group has symbol
s that identify its ‘members’.” He held up an empty fanny pack.
I squished up my nose in distaste.
He pointed to the three gold stars on the pack. “Each group has its own symbols. Our symbols are the sun, moon, and stars. The symbols identify us and protect us, especially when we’re in an area that more than one group picks.”
A group of giggling teenagers passed us by.
I remembered the moon on the over-the-shoulder bag from yesterday and the sun from the jacket on the boy who stole my bag. I nodded.
“Oh, and while you’re on trial, you get ten percent of what you pick.”
“Ten percent? That doesn’t seem fair.”
“A lot of people need their cut of what you pick. Consider yourself lucky. Other groups don’t pay anything during training.” I thought it was interesting that he called the pickpocket rings groups instead of gangs.
I figured he was the one who collected the most because he would be training me. “Well, I guess I could give it a shot.” I smiled, and trying to make him feel I was way more comfortable with him than I was, I slugged him softly. “But you better back me up.”
He laughed, but it was forced. “That’s all up to you. Why don’t we practice a bit?”
After a couple perfect picks, I decided it was time to let him mentor me. He pointed out a small group of tourists sitting at an outside table at McDonalds. They were talking and laughing. I noticed that one woman kept glancing down at her phone as if she were waiting for someone to call or text. I figured Kamal would see that I was making a rookie mistake and stop me before I went in for the kill. I moved in that direction, and just as I expected, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to the side of the building.
“You can’t just walk right up to take something without first making sure the owner is engrossed in something else.”
“But how do you know? I thought she was distracted.”
“Distracted is not the same as engrossed. It’s something you just start to recognize and get a feel for as time goes on. If you aren’t sure, then leave it. She kept taking quick glances at her phone. Couldn’t you see that?” His smile was full of tension. Strange. It was like he was trying to hide his anger from me. Dark shadows lingered in his eyes.
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