Five's Legacy by Pittacus Lore

Author:Pittacus Lore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

EMMA CALLS.

She doesn’t talk to Ethan, but the person on the line seems to know who both she and I are. It makes me nervous, but it’s only a fake name that they know.

Ethan is apparently in dire need of couriers—people to run packages and documents across the city for him. It’s not exactly what Emma had in mind when she called, but she agrees on behalf of both of us.

“I thought you didn’t want someone telling you what to do,” I say when she’s off the phone.

“I don’t.” She frowns a little bit. “But I’m getting bored lifting off of randos every day. Aren’t you?”

Not really, I think, but I just shrug.

“So, what, you’re going to work your way up to master cat burglar or something?” I ask with a smirk.

She punches me in the arm and laughs.

We call in for our assignments. Usually they include picking up envelopes at specific stores or locations and delivering them to stores on the other side of town. Emma hates it, but I don’t mind. I get to see parts of the city I never knew existed. Voodoo shops in Little Haiti and chandeliers hanging in store windows in the Design District. Sometimes we have to split up to get the work done. Mostly we’re running around the city together.

One day on a solo assignment, I meet Ethan again.

He sits in a big corner booth at the back of a restaurant. I have a package for him. The place is fancy, or at least fancier than the fast food and street vendor food that I usually eat. He grins widely when he sees me, flashing perfect white teeth.

“There’s my best worker,” he says, motioning to the other side of the booth. “Please, have a seat.”

“Thanks, uh . . .” I realize I don’t know what to call him.

“Please, call me Ethan.”

“Ethan.” I nod.

I plop down in the booth, setting my duffel down at my feet. Before I can say anything else, food starts arriving: plates upon plates of seviche and roasted chicken and pasta swimming in sauce. Ethan encourages me to eat as much as I want, and I practically shovel food into my mouth.

Ethan talks while we eat. “I don’t normally get my hands dirty with small-time crooks or gangs in this city,” he says, cutting into a shrimp on his plate. “But reports get back to me. From people on the streets. From cops. When someone of interest pops up, I know about it. And you and your friend are definitely people of interest. You had a solid partnership before you came across me. Tell me, what brought you to pickpocketing? Why do you do it?”

“To survive.”

Ethan smiles. He gestures to me with his fork.

“You’re young. About fourteen I’d say, right?”

I nod. He continues.

“I lived on the streets when I was your age. It made me a damned good thief and forced me to grow up fast. But it’s not an easy life. And it’s dangerous. My brother didn’t make it.

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