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Chapter 3: Initiation Of The Petty Thieves
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Are you willing to stay like this forever just waiting for opportunities to get to you? Let's create them ourselves."
The three were a bit stunned by his words for a bit though Ralf, the experienced old man got his wits back together, "That... is actually very convincing, but..."
The other two were also hesitating, so Ian gave them one last push, "It's okay, take your time. Just know that I have a plan, and when you're prepared to hear it, let me know."
They really had nothing to lose. They were like broken dolls, just doing what they were programmed to do but will jump on the first opportunity to become more than that.
Ian's confidence certainly helped in convincing them more, but... At the end of the day, they've only met him today.
Silence returned to the area, most of the homeless were already asleep, and the ones that weren't were silent.
It wasn't long before the group went to sleep, including Ian. In the most rundown place of the city, near the sewers, things were strangely peaceful. Everyone was just trying to live.
They spread around the city in the day, scavenging for something to eat and anything useful. Some never come back, and Ian came to know why.
Gunshots sounded as Ian and the group scavenged in an isolated alleyway. It was far away, and the three men were used to it, so they had little to no reaction.
"You seemed confident yesterday, you have experience?" Ralf asked, quite curious.
"Nah, not really, never needed to rob anything, but I am sure things will work out just fine."
Ralf shook his head at that, 'Perhaps I gave the kid too much credit, he's very impulsive.'
"Why are you doing nothing? Do you think we'd think what we find, go on and look for food or something." Barney reprimanded Ian who was just standing there and watching them.
"I'll be on my way and look for food somewhere else, see you guys at night." He left directly after that while the trio just shook their head, thinking the same thing, 'Kids these days.'
Ian started just walking aimlessly though he had a goal in mind. He just headed into what he presumed to be the more wealthy part of the city.
He wasn't specifically an anomaly there as he could see beggars basically everywhere, especially in this part of the city. Moreover, one would have to take a very close look to see his homeless statue.
He went to one of the large supermarkets there, and no one paid much attention to him as he just entered and started going around the place.
Somewhere on the way, his dirty shoes disappeared. He walked into the shoe section and picked up two different pairs of shoes.
He hastily put one pair on then slowly started trying out the other pair. He put it back in its place, and now he has new shoes.
He of course made sure he wasn't caught by the camera, and he did a similar thing when getting a shirt and a sweater.
There were a lot of people in the supermarket, but no one really paid attention to him. It's really that easy to steal things, people just don't pay attention.
Ian started casually walking out though he made a stop next to one of the workers and asked, "Hi, I'm curious, is there a sales day, it's my first time in here."
"There is but on Saturday. Some products are always on sale so check them out. Also, their price won't change even on the sales day but most other products' price will go down." He seemed well versed in the craft as he responded naturally.
Ian smiled and said, "Nah, I will just come back on Saturday."
Then he just walked out, leaving the worker muttering under his breath, "Cheap fuck." Oh if only he knew.
Ian wasn't done as he went on a stealing spree of food though he remained a bit cautious, he knew that luck was on his side. It has always been on his side except for it when it wasn't.
He then headed back to the warehouse by evening. He had to ignore most of the beggars there giving him some strange looks, he did look as fresh as fuck with the new clothes... He doesn't fit in.
Most however retracted their glances after seeing him joining Ralf's group, the latter was an influential figure among the homeless.
"W-where did you get those? The wife took you back? but if so, why come back here?" Barney was the first to ask, unable to hold his curiosity.
"Nah, I just stole them, It was actually quite easy. I expected something to go wrong, but here I am."
Ian responded while opening the black plastic bag in his hand. He picked up two apples, an orange, and a piece of bread from it before giving the bag to Ralf, "Here, split them between you all."
Ralf hastily took the bag and took a look at what was inside, "You stole all of this??" To which Ian nodded.
Ralf started eyeing his surroundings directly after, noticing several of the beggars watching them, "Barney, Mike bring the metal poles."
The duo instantly got to action as they started looking through the garbage next to them, pulling four rusty poles.
They placed them in the center of the group, ready for if anyone tries anything, and only then did they start devouring the food like they've been starving for months.
Ralf took a deep breath afterward, "What's your plan?"
Ian finally smiled and glanced at Mike and Barney. The two hesitated for a bit before nodding.
"Well, it's quite simple, but I'll have to get you all some new clothes. Also, Barney and Mike, you two will have to clean yourselves up."
And so he did, he was more cautious this time and went to different supermarkets, but he got what he wanted.
Only a few days passed before the group started their new adventure. They could be seen in a certain street, spread out. Their goal was a small store, a good store chosen by Ian as the goal.
Barney was on the other side of the street, hiding while keeping an eye on the store. Once the opportunity arose, he starts signaling for someone to take action.
That person or persons were none other than Ian and Mike who hastily started running towards the store with a mask on, and Barney also followed after them.
They were many people in the streets, and they knew they'll probably inform the police, so the group had to act quickly.
They chose the exact moment the shopkeeper or manager was out of his cage to go in.
Gotham is extremely dangerous so shop owners made such percussions, an anti-bullet plastic barrier isolating them from the visitors.
The group had to wait for an opportunity for several days to take action. Ian used it to put a knife to the worker's throat and said, "Make a move, and you're dead. Just do exactly as I say."
His tone was calm and collected, leaving the victim to believe he's experienced, so he did follow his instruction.
Neither Barney nor Mike spoke a word. They just collected a few expensive things from the store before collecting the money while Ian looked through the shopkeeper's desk, and just as he expected, he found a gun in there, 'A Glock huh, very nice.'
Ian then calmly used it to knock out the shaking store worker.
The group swiftly ran out of the store then directly to an alleyway not far away, they couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief not seeing any cop close by.
They ran until they reached their destination, an old man was lying there with his extremely long greasy beard lying on the ground next to a rusty shopping cart with a lot of garbage inside.
He was the old Ralf. None spoke a thing, they just started taking their clothes off as under them were another different set of clothes.
Ian's clothes were that of a dirty beggar while Mike and Barney were clean. They put everything they stole, their mask and clothes deep in the shopping cart beneath all the disgusting garbage.
Then Barney and Mike started walking out of the alley to the street from another exit while acting just like normal friends, joking and talking to each other.
Ian on the other hand covered himself with a dirty brown coat after spraying a bit of dark chocolate on his face and dirtying his hair a bit. He then slept next to the old man, "Well, good night old Ralf."