Chapter One
She could feel her muscles screaming. Her arms shook as she pulled herself up to the window and peaked inside. The shaking had nothing to do with the ninety degree weather or the fact that she’d strained her tiny arms to pull her ninety-five pound body up five feet. If someone had asked her she would have denied that they shook because she was scared. She was a Shadow and Shadows didn’t get scared. No matter what! She peeked into the dark window as she moved her tiny body and got a better hold on the narrow ledge. The old place had sat empty for years, however now she could see boxes piled up across the dark room and right in the middle of those boxes sat a small safe. Bingo.
Billy would be so proud. He might be a little pissed that she hadn’t invited the gang along for the job, but, he would over look it for the loot she was sure to bring back. She knew this old place like the back of her hand, after all, she’d lived in the building for over a year. It was the year right after her old man had ended up dead on the sidewalk outside their hotel room.
She cupped her hands and checked the place out, just to make sure it was empty. She could smell the new paint and noticed that the walls were no longer a dingy brown. Someone had painted them a nice glossy white making them look new, which actually worked in her favor, now she would be able to see in the dark better. The light from the streets angled in the tall windows, reflected off the high gloss walls, illuminating the whole room. She wouldn’t even need the pen flashlight which was tucked in her pocket.
Reaching into her other pocket she pulled out the small knife, her old man had lifted it for her tenth birthday. She expertly flipped it open and jammed it under the window sill and searched for the small lock she knew so well. There! The window creaked, then slid open silently. Pulling her agile body over the sill, she slowly slid down to the hardwood floor. Listening the whole time and keeping her eyes pealed, just like her old man had taught her.
Hearing and seeing nothing out of sorts, she moved with grace across the floor, her dirty Keds didn’t make a sound on the floorboards. She knew which boards would creek and easily avoided them. Halfway across the room she heard a siren in the distance, and just for a minute, her heart stopped. She stood motionless, waiting, holding her breath, ready to sprint out the window and run for her life. When the sirens started fading, she released her breath in a soft whoosh.
Moving a little faster, she reached the safe. Perfect! It was an older model and she thought she could easily crack this one in her sleep. Leaning over and placing her ear to the cool metal door, she got to work.
It had taken her almost five minutes to crack the damn thing. She could blame it on the lack of light, but the truth was, it was her sweaty hands that kept slipping on the cool knob. Finally, when the safe door slid silently open, a huge smile appeared on her face. She was seventeen years old and the best thief in Portland, Oregon. Well, she’d been the best ever since her old man had died of a stroke.
Inside the small safe was a treasure. Over a thousand in cash, which she quickly rolled up and placed in her pocket. There was a large stack of checks which she left alone. A small black box sat in the back of the safe, reaching in she grabbed the silk case and quickly stashed it in her jacket pocket. This was the best haul since her and her old man had broken into the liquor store. She’d been nine at the time and thought they’d hit the jack-pot with three thousand dollars. Not to mention her father had grabbed enough liquor to last him a month.
She pulled out the packet of baby wipes from her pocket and wiped the outside of the safe down like she’d been taught. Making sure to go over the handle three times. Then she closed the safe with a small click, spun the dial, and stuffed the wipes in her jeans and let herself out of the old building on Main Street.
An hour later, she made her way over to the base of the Shadows, they weren’t the best known gang in Portland, but they were her family.
As she crawled through the broken fence, Johnny, tonight’s lookout sat on the ground crossed legged, smoking a cigarette.
“Billy’s pissed,” he said and flicked the butt across the yard.
It was the simple statement that stopped her. She thought of turning around and playing it cool for a couple of days, but instead she held her chin up and marched in the back door. This week’s base, was nothing more than an old bowling ally that had half burned down three months ago. No one drove by, and no one bothered them since the neighborhood had gone down the toilet years ago.
She walked into the small room, which hadn’t been burned, at the back of the building. She noticed that Bonnie, her best friend, was sprawled across Billy’s lap on an old green couch.
The pair had been going steady since they were six after running away from their foster parents. It had taken several years for the relationship to turn from brotherly and sisterly into what it was today. Rob looked up to them and hoped someday to find something close to what they had.
“Where you been, little girl?” Billy asked without taking his eyes off Bonnie. At the sharpness of his voice, Rob cringed and Bonnie sat up and stretched.
“Just strolling,” Rob said dropping the cash on the table in front of the pair. “Thought you might like to eat out tonight.” Rob plopped down and sat cross legged on the floor, leaning against an old leather chair.
“Where did you get this?” Bonnie asked, as she reached over and started to count the money. Billy looked at Rob and as much as she knew he didn’t want to let it show, Rob could tell he was proud.
“Is this how it’s going to be? You going off on your own all the damn time, not including your family? Damn it Rob!” He pushed Bonnie off his lap, and walked over to pull Rob up by her elbows. “We’re a family here, and damn it, if you can’t respect that, you can use the door. Got it?”
They were nose to nose now and she could smell the beer. Just for a second, she flashed back to a memory. It wasn’t Billy digging his fingers into her skin, but her old man and this time he wouldn’t stop at a simple slap or push. This time it would be bad.
She was shaken out of it when Bonnie said, “Billy, leave her alone!” Bonnie sat down with the cash in her hands. “There’s over a thousand here.”
Billy turned back to Rob. “Where the hell did you get it?”
“No place, just fell from the sky I guess.” Rob took a step forward and challenged Billy. “You want to say other wise?”
For what seemed like a life time, the two battled silently with their eyes. Then Billy blinked and smiled. “Fine little girl, you have your secrets. Let’s go get some grub, I’m starved.”
The Shadows consisted of fourteen members and it was growing bigger every day. The youngest member was eleven and the oldest was Billy at eighteen.
Rob was second in command, not only because of her age, but because of her talent. She was the only member who had received a full education. She’d gone to school and at fifteen she had gotten her damn GED. It wasn’t as if she was a super genius or anything. She just had a really good memory and picked up on every detail. It wasn’t her fault things just stuck. Anyway, her old man had been proud, so proud in fact, that after receiving her diploma, he’d taken them out and had gotten wasted. Then, he’d robbed a local mart and beat the crap out of her a few hours later. Rob didn’t want to owe anybody anything and even though the Shadows called her family, she knew exactly what they were…
The three of them made their way over to the local Chuck E. Cheese for some cheese pizza’s and root beer. As they walked the few blocks, they ran into other members of the gang, soon there were eight of them walking along the dark road, Rob had to admit that she felt more comfortable in the larger group.
They were half-a-block away, when she heard the low rumble of the car engine. Looking up, she saw the lights before anyone else did. It seemed like a lifetime, but in reality it had taken less than a minute for her entire world to change.