In Your Pocket

Howdy people! I hope you’ve all had a great ‘writing week’?! It's been a busy period personally and professionally so this week's prompt falls short of personal standards, but it would have felt wrong not turning anything in.

I challenged Diane who is taking part in this year’s NaNoWriMo and writing in the Indie Ink, based on those two facts, she already ROCKS! Her piece has a lovely flow to it, you can't help but sing along - nicely done!

I was challenged by Tara Roberts and you can find the prompt at the end of this post.

“Excuse me sir, I think this is yours.” Jack said, handing the wallet back to the unsuspecting mark. He’d scoped the guy from across the street coming out of the tube station exit. He had on a long grey trench coat covering a blue suit. It was close of business for the day so the tie had been loosened and his top button, undone. He’d walked past Jack without realising his wallet had been lifted, something Jack was becoming increasingly proficient at. There wasn’t even cause to bump into the guy for effect. He’d learnt some time ago to blend into a crowd and Houdini a wallet so fast it might as well have been, magic.

Before the mark’s brain could put the puzzle together, Jack offered an explanation. “I’m a thief and I just lifted your wallet.” He’d learnt long ago too that it was good to tell the truth, often it was so unbelievably true; people simply couldn’t believe it. He even smiled as he said it which further confused the mark, and without much thought the mark decided that he’d simply dropped it, took it, said ‘thank you’ and walked off checking the contents. Jack watched him walk away, bemused.

An hour or two went by and surge after surge of people came from the station, each with a varying degree of fatigue showing on their faces. Jack picked a few at random and with relative ease came away with over ten wallets and purses. A good bout of thievery he thought to himself.

“Excuse me sir?” said someone from behind.

Jack whipped round to face a familiar looking man dressed in a tracksuit and running shoes, though frustratingly he couldn’t place where he knew him from.

“Can I help you?” Jack asked, all the while trying to place the face.

“I think you dropped this.” the man replied.

In his outstretched hand was a wallet. It was the exact same one Jack had too. Instinctively he checked his pockets and much to his surprise they were empty.

“How-?”

Before Jack could complete the sentence the guy tossed the wallet to him and sauntered off whistling towards the train station. Upon seeing the back of the stranger he realised where he’d seen him before.

Unsure of what just happened; Jack ran over to the thief and finished the question. The answer he received was unbelievably true.

Tara’s prompt was: "I still have checks left, I can't be out of money!"