Kansas City Shuffle 1/?
Title: Kansas City Shuffle 1/?
Word count: 897
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: don’t own.
Summary: “I’m not going to fuck you,” he said.
The kid looked a bit shocked. “Then what the hell are you going to do to me?”
“Train you.” Con Artist Au
2000
Jeff heard the kid being roughed by the gas station security before he saw it. It was really the swearing that attracted him to the scene. Loud curses that no kid with that high pitched of a voice should know, and lower more muffled ones from the guard as the kid kicked and tried to bite him. When the guard dragged the kid up to the front of the store, Jeff saw him for the first time. Scrawny kid, unkempt hair falling over his dirt-smeared forehead. Can’t be more than nine, Jeff thought as he watched them from his position outside the glass doors, though later the kid would swear up and down he was eleven and a half. Deep down, Jeff knew something terrible was going to happen to this kid, probably already had happened.
He glanced around. No one inside had noticed Jeff, yet. Too busy watching the scene in front of them. It only took a second for him to decide. Yanking open the door, Jeff rushed inside.
“Sammy!” he yelled, falling to his knees in front of the kid and taking hold of his thin face. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you! What happened to you? You’re filthy.” He glanced up at the guard, who still had a hold of the kid’s arm. Panted a bit, let too much white show in his eyes. Let his words run a bit in panic. It was practically second nature. The kid looked at him, startled, but stopped his swearing, obviously ready to see where this was going to go. “I’m so sorry,” Jeff said, standing up to face the man. “I was supposed to be watching him today and I swear I just turned my back for a second and he was gone. Please, I’ll pay for whatever damage he’s caused.”
The guard looked at him a bit skeptically.”This kid’s yours?”
Jeff nodded quickly. He babbled like a worried parent, sharing too much information about their life. Showed his ID, a fake, obviously, Jeff never carried his real one. It was only a few minutes before the guard released the kid into his custody, and Jeff could tell he was glad to do it. The guard was pretty young himself, didn’t want a kid like this to end up in trouble. It was easy as breathing. Hell, this was probably the easiest con Jeff had done in months.
They were a few blocks away before either of them spoke. Jeff kept a firm hold on the kid in case he tried to make a run for it. He watched from the corner of his eye as the kid glanced up at him.
“I’m a pretty great fuck, you know,” the kid said, bringing his eyelashes down halfway to look more innocent. “Give great head, too.”
Jeff still didn’t look at the kid but smiled to himself. The manipulation was blatant and obvious, but the instinct was definitely there. With a bit of training, this kid would be a great con artist.
“I’m not going to fuck you,” he said.
The kid looked a bit shocked. “Then what the hell are you going to do to me?”
“Train you.”
****
The kid, whose name turned out to be Jared, might have been the greatest pickpocket since Jeff himself. Once he’d been cleaned up, he could blend in easily with the crowds. No one noticed children. Jared could walk close behind a family, and everyone assumed he was with them. He could run, giggling, down a crowded sidewalk and no one even thought to check for their wallet after he’d bumped into them.
Jeff had worried a bit at first about letting him go off on his own. He’d only been with Jeff for a few days the first time he worked the crowds and Jeff had been sure Jared would run off. But the kid seemed to know a good thing when he saw it. Every morning he’d run off to the sidewalks, the subways, the parks, and every evening he’d show up at Jeff’s loft with his little hands full of stolen cash. Jeff fed him, made him take baths, and pawned the valuables he’d stolen from passersby. It was almost like being a father, Jeff decided.
Jeff also taught him what he needed to know. They started small. How to shoplift the right way. How to avoid security guards or cameras. How to lie and make someone believe it was the truth. It wasn’t long at all before Jeff decided they were ready for some real cons. He started with the basics, fake raffles at the mall, cell phone grabs at the airport, change raising at convenience stores. It wasn’t hard. Jared was a quick study and had a trustworthy face. Put the kid in a boy scout uniform and he could sell anything.
Of course, the kid couldn’t be young forever. Within months of coming to live with Jeff, he’d shot up half a foot. He would be tall when he was full grown. Tall and good-looking. That was fine, though. Good, even. Jeff could teach him to compensate, to be charming and funny. Jeff could teach him to be a leader, to call the shots and take care of a crew. The instinct was all there inside the kid already. All Jeff had to do was hone it.