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Chapter 3 Chapter 5

Trance's Tale - Chapter 4

Trance turned out to be a natural born pickpocket. As Jenni had noticed earlier she had quick hands. She was also a natural actress as well, a skill that was useful when she was assisting the other girls. While the other girls blended into the crowd Trance was far to easy to remember so she generally worked with Jenni or Concepcion as a decoy. She became a skillful stall, bumping into her target and then falling down allowing Jenni or Concepcion to steal from their mark while he was assisting Trance. She also became good at working the bars feigning drunkenness and spilling a drink on her victim. She would then rob him while she was apologizing profusely and attempting to clean him off. After lifting an item she would then pass it off to one of the other two girls in the bar who in turn would take the loot to Fagin. Trance was stopped for questioning by the police so many times that she was on a first name, 'how's the family doing' basis with most of the officers who worked the spaceport area. They knew what she was doing but they were never able to catch her with the pilfered goods.

Unlike many of the other thieves working the spaceport the girls had a certain empathy for their victims. When possible they tried to leave their mark with a little cash, generally just enough to get a cab back to their home or ship. On a couple of memorable instances one of the girls found her self being taken out to dinner by a likable young man after she had fulfilled her function as a stall and then footed the tab when her escort realized to his consternation that he had been robbed. Jenni was adamant that violence was never to be used in one of their scams. Nor was drugging a mark's drink when they were working the bar scene. Her rationalization was that it was to dangerous for all concerned and that it was more likely to get the authorities involved than a simple grab and go. In reality, the girls simply weren't the type of girl that would willing hurt another person.

The girls generally targeted the visiting spacers. There were two reasons for their choice . One it was normally safer since the spacers rarely complained to the local authorities when they found their pockets had been lightened, and when they did the police would only search halfheartedly for the culprits, since unlike the local inhabitants of the spaceport the spacers would generally lift off planet before any of the girls could be brought up before a magistrate. The FTA enforcers who occasionally patrolled some areas of the port were an entirely different matter however. While they normally didn't get involved in something as minor as a pickpocketing, leaving such crimes to the local police, they were relentless when they did get involved. People who were taken by the FTA were rarely seen again, and when they were they were broken shells of what they had been before.

The second reason the girls targeted visiting spacers was that it was generally more lucrative to steal from the visitors. The majority of Bathsheba citizens, or at least those who had enough money to be worth robbing, rarely carried cash. Bathsheba's banks and upper class shops used a biometric funds transfer system. A client would lay his or her hand on a scanning screen which would identify the palm and vein prints of the customer as well as their DNA and then transfer funds from the client's account to the shop's account. Transients such as spacers weren't tied into the local system and either carried cash or credit sticks which were as good as cash. Other than jewelry the locals rarely carried anything of value for the girls to steal and while Trance was soon an accomplished pickpocket even she had to admit that removing a pair of diamond studded pierced earrings was beyond her capabilities, though more than one local found himself without a watch or broach after an encounter with her.

In addition to developing a quick hand when it came to filching the contents of a pocket Trance also developed a steady hand with a stitching needle. It didn't take long for the word to get out that she had an above average knowledge of medicine. No one took her for a doctor but she could stitch up a wound or lance a boil as well as any medico and for considerably less than a doctor would charge. It wasn't a large or steady income but it helped put food on the table and more importantly generated a certain amount of good will towards the girls.

If Trance, Jenni, and Concepcion were coming up in their world, Lita was descending. She was now completely dependent on Flash. The only way she could support her habit was as a full time prostitute. At first Jenni was sympathetic but as the Flash took a deeper hold over Lita and her temperament, which was uneven at best, became more and more bellicose and hostile towards the other girls her patience began to wear thin. Eventually she was only allowing Lita to remain in the house so Concepcion and Trance could see what the consequences Lita's choices in life led to. Her patience finally snapped completely when she and the other two girls noticed that some of their personal belongings were missing. Her confrontation with Lita escalated from words into blows and then escalated even further when Lita pulled a knife. Jenni might have been seriously hurt if Concepcion and Trance hadn't joined the fray. When the girls were separated and Lita disarmed, Jenni ordered Lita to pack up her personal belongings and get out of their apartment. Still screaming insults and vowing to get even Lita left.

At first the thefts had seemed almost like a game to Trance. There was a certain amount of exhilaration in removing a mark's jewelry or credit stick while knowing there was a possibility of being caught, but it wasn't too long before she realized that while staying with Jenni and the other girls was safer than being alone, it was a precarious safety at best. Trance and Concepcion were in the pawn shop Fagin owned and used a a conduit for stolen goods haggling with him over the value of a watch Trance had stolen earlier in the day when a pair of strangers walked into the building. One was a man about 30 years old, well dressed but with eyes that were colder than ice. He made Trance nervous just looking at him. The other was a girl about Trance's age. She was dressed in such a way as to be mostly undressed. The most noticeable thing about her attire wasn't her lack if clothing but the choke collar that was fastened around her neck. There was a chain leading from the collar to a wrist strap on the man's left hand. The girl's face was down turned her eyes gazing emptily at the floor but the posture didn't prevent Trance from seeing the bruises on the girl's face.

"Hello, Bill," said Fagin. "What can I do for you today? Perhaps some earrings for your pet? What do you say, Molly would you like something pretty to wear?"

The girl turned her head to the man Fagin had called Bill a questioning look in her eyes.

"You have permission to speak," he said.

"Yes please," said the girl in in a tone of voice so soft that Trance could barely hear her, her face once more turned downwards. "If it pleases my master to buy them I would like that."

"That's enough Molly," said the man reinforcing has words with a tug on the leash which caused the girl to struggle for breath as the collar tightened around her neck.

"You're too hard on your toys, Bill," said Fagin momentarily forgetting that Trance and Concepcion were still in the room. "You break them too quickly."

"Then I'll come to you for another one. What about her?" He pointed to Trance. "She's an exotic one. Is she available?"

Fagin's eyes narrowed as he realized that Trance and Concepcion were still in the room. "I think not," he said. "Grape's a long term investment." He turned his attention fully towards the two girls. "Our business here is done. You have my offer, take it or leave it."

The girls took the money offered and hurriedly left the pawn shop.

"Who was that man and and the girl?" Trance asked once they were well clear of the shop.

"That was Bill Sikes and Molly. Sikes works for Fagin. When Fagin want's something bad to happen to someone Bill makes it happen. Molly used to work the marks like we do until Fagin wanted her to become a full time prostitute and she refused. So he gave her to that monster. I hear that she's not his first pet either. You saw the bruises on her face. One of these days he'll hit her too hard and then he'll be coming to see Fagin for a new toy."

"And the police allow it?"

Concepcion shrugged in a gesture of resignation "Nobody cares what happens to the people in Lowport," she said. "And no one says 'no' to Fagin, no one."

About six months after the meeting with Sikes, Trance learned exactly what Concepcion meant. She was sitting in their home's living room when she heard a knock on the door. She cracked the door open to see who it was and let out a terrified scream as the door was forced open, nearly hitting her in the face as it swung inward. Trance's scream brought the rest of the girls running into the living room where the sight of Sikes standing in the doorway brought them all to a terrified halt.

A glint of cruel amusement showed in Sikes' eyes as he savored the fear he was instilling in the girls. "Mr Fagin has a proposition for you, purple girl. He thinks you should learn how to pick locks. He thinks you and your friends can do better than petty thievery. He also expects you to accept his proposition."

Chapter 3 Chapter 5