The smell of horse shit is loud, but her nose has gotten used to as she swats a fly away from her ear. The young boy in front of her empties his pocket quickly as he smiles.

"Lots of tourists today. Lots of rich ones," he says.

She reaches out to pick up a shiny thin bracelet that hangs off of his fingers. It is silver and light, and sparkles in the sun as delicate charms hang off of it. She watches as a small butterfly swings from the clasp before stuffing it in her own pocket.

"No more jewelry," she says. "It can get you into too much trouble. Just wallets—"

"I know, I know. Grab their wallets, take the cash, and trash it." The boy pouts as he places the stuff back in his pockets one by one. "You say this over and over all the time."

"And yet, you still take the watches off of people's wrist every day. People care more about their jewelry and clothes than they do the bills they stuff in their wallet."

Nat swats another fly from her ear as she looks at the young boy. His name is Mikey. His hair is curly and light brown, bleached from spending days in the sun. His face looks radiant, with his thin cracked lips spreading from cheek to cheek, dimples deep set in them, but his brown eyes stay cold. There is only so much happiness you can have as you lay in a tent, fighting for food and a spot to sleep in the city.

"You say that, but you still took that bracelet and hid it for yourself. You dragon," he smiles.

Nat smiles at herself, as she looks up to watch someone walk her way. He is tall and thin but not like they were, who were hungry. He was born that way, willowy and graceful, with quick hands and a fast mind. He isn't from the streets like they are. He has a home to go back to. He just thrives on trouble.

He is handsome, the ‌young man who would have no problem having his pick of the litter. Nat especially likes his dark skin, like a deep chocolate, that makes his hazel eyes even brighter.

"This is the best you could do with your hair?" He asks her as he stops in front of them. "Hey little man."

Mikey stops smiling, not afraid to show how much he didn't like the man in front of him, but not enough to say anything.

"What's wrong with my hair, Jerome?" Nat asks.

She fights the urge to pat it down in front of him, not wanting to look insecure or bothered. Her hair is harder to deal with than most, with curls jumping all over the place. It is hard to take care of every day when all you had to use was water and a comb, and no mirror to see in. That morning, though, a lady who stopped by to give the homeless food was nice enough to help her comb it and braid it in cornrows.

The woman took a picture on her phone, and even though you could see the brown roots showing, the blues and greens of her dyed hair were interwoven beautifully, even if the rows weren't evenly parted.

"We're trying to con men out of breakfast and money. You may be beautiful, but you still have to play the part," he says.

Jerome turns her around, and though she wants to fight, she just stands there and lets him. She could feel him take out the bottom half of each braid and then fluff up the back of her hair.

He finishes and turns her around, holding up his phone for her to look at herself in the camera. The top half of her head is still braided, but the bottom half is laid to her shoulders with a braid out. They aren't perfect curls since they weren't braided that long, but she still looks nice.

Her face is clean and her bronzed tarnish earrings don't stand out too badly, so it will do for their plan.

"Alright." Jerome puts his phone away and grabs her wrist, pulling her away and not even giving Mikey a second look. "I staked out this tourist. He's been here for a couple of days and hasn't stopped spending money yet."

"He has an eye for women?" Nat asks.

"Not like that," Jerome says, still pulling her along through the busy streets of the French Quarter. She swerves as she tries to avoid falling over as she bumps into a few people, reaching skilfully and silently into their pockets.

They stop in front of a food joint. A small hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but its windows are wide enough for them to see the people inside.

"He seems shy. Some Ladies of the Night have stopped him on the street, but he's never nibbled at the bait. But I've seen him eyeing them. And even when he goes to buy from the booths on the street, he only buys from women. So all you gotta do is work your magic."

"Don't make it sound like that."

"Sound like what?" Jerome smiles. "Don't be so sensitive. Look, you already know what to do—" He hands her a hotel card. "—Get him to buy you breakfast and make it so good that he's willing to go back to the hotel with you. Room 502. When you're in there, we'll give you ten minutes to get him naked and vulnerable, and then me and my boys will come in and rob him. You just ‌cue the waterworks, and you'll be alright. Got it?"

Nat rolls her eyes and looks into the restaurant. "You act like it's my first rodeo. Just tell me who I'm dining with."

"Him."

Nat honestly doesn't give the man he points too much of her attention. She looks at his plain muddy blonde hair and plain face and nods, memorizing more of where he's sitting than what he looks like.

"Okay," she says. She takes things out of her pockets and hands them to Jerome until his hands are filled with three cell phones and five wallets.

"You already got this much since you started this morning?" He asks, bewildered at the mountain of pickpocketed goods in his hands.

"Naw. That was all on the way here," she smiles.

"Such a thief," He smiles back. "I'll wait right here by the window for you to see me until the food comes. After that, I'll be about a block away until I see you leave. Don't fuck it up."

Nat nods at him, but doesn't give him much more time as she walks away and into the diner. It's one she's never been in before, and by the warm air, the light soft music, and the brand new varnish on the tables she's passing, she'll probably never go there again. Too rich for her blood.

Quickly, she schools her face and sits down at the man's table in a rush. She grabs a couple of napkins, and her breaths are coming out so quickly and loudly that anyone can see she must have run there. She looks up at the man across the booth from her, and he looks at her in surprise. She smiles sweetly at him and tries to look pitiful.

"I'm so sorry to bother you like this. I'll be gone in a moment, I swear. I just need to hide out for a second. I'll explain it to your girlfriend if she comes back before I'm gone. I won't cause you any trouble."

The man, with wide brown eyes, nods at her, and then quickly shakes his head. He leans forward a little and softly says, "I don't have a girlfriend—I mean, there's no one to explain it to. You're hiding?"

His voice is low. Not like he's whispering, but like he has a soft voice. It makes Nat have to lean in to hear it.

"It'll just be a second, I promise. You see that man over there, outside the window—no, don't be so obvious in looking. That's my ex. He's been following me. I know it sounds stupid, but maybe if he saw me in here and thought I was on a date, he'd get the hint and leave me alone."

"Is he violent?" The soft-voiced man asks.

"He won't hit you, I promise. He may hit me all the time, that stupid thug, but he's a coward!" Nat sinks back in the chair.

This is the part that seals the deal. The water works. Nat isn't that talented of an actress to ‌fake tears or cry on the spot, so it takes a while as she looks down at the table.

A few years ago, weeks before they ran away from their group home, Nat had found Mikey laying still in the dirty bathtub, blood seeping from gashes in his wrist. As she brings this image to mind, the tears fall from her eyes. She looks up to the man as she forces herself not to audibly sob.

"I'm smaller than him, weaker than him, so he'll easily toss me around all he wants, but the second a man comes, he acts like a little bitch and does nothing." Her voice breaks with every other word.

The man nods again. He grabs a napkin from the side of the table and hands it to her.

Nat can see the pity in his eyes, and watches as he puffs up his chest like an alpha male that's going to protect her. She can see him falling for the bait. She takes the napkin he hands her and wipes her eyes. It takes a few minutes for the tears to dry up, and even longer for her to catch her breath as the other patrons look their way.

She pretends to look out the window to see if Jerome is still there. "Could I just sit here until he leaves or until your breakfast companion comes back?"

The man smiles at her and waves his hands in the air. "No one else is coming. I was just eating by myself. Of course you can stay here."

Just then the server comes and places a bowl filled to the brim with shrimp and grits in front of the man, smiling and looking at Nat. "Hi, do you already know what you want off the menu, or do you still need some time?"

"Yes," the man says, "‌order you some food."

The server, without hesitation, hands her a menu from the pocket of their apron, even though Nat is shaking her head, and pulls out his notepad. What could I get you to drink?"

"I'll only have water, thank you." Nat goes to hand the menu back to the server, but the man at the table pushes it back to her.

"She'll need some time to look at the menu."

"Of course," their server smiles, "I'll ‌get you that water."

Nat looks at the man, faking a question on her face, as he smiles back at her, pushing the menu closer to her.

"Then..." She smiles at him and picks up the menu. "I won't be polite." She glances down at the menu and scans it for the cheapest meal. Deciding on that, she puts the menu down and looks at who is across from her.

He has very tan skin, but not tan enough to assume he was anything other than a white man. His deep brown eyes look at her through the stray blonde hair that falls across his forehead. Her glance sweeps over the thin muted pink of his smile and sharp jaw before she looks back at him.

The server comes back and she quickly orders the same shrimp and grits as he sets the water down. She doesn't pay him any mind as she puts on her act of smiling at the man and being interested. It's quiet between them and Nat imagines how she can flirt that he'll accept until the server serves her food.

"Please, enjoy," he says, pointing to her food.

Nat nods her head and digs into her food. She may try to trick the man into going with her, but she would not pass up food. Who knew where her next meal would come from? Maybe nice people who wanted to do charity, but it was never guaranteed.

"That's a beautiful bracelet you have there?" The man says.

Nat puts her spoon down into her bowl. She looks at his untouched food but doesn't pay it any mind.

"This?" she asks, picking up her wrist. She twists her wrist and watches as the charms clink together, the butterfly dancing. "It's the only thing I have left of my mother."

"I'm sorry," he says.

She shakes her head and smiles before picking back up her spoon and stuffing her mouth. The man doesn't ask ‌anymore questions for the entire meal.

Once they're done, he stacks the plates together and places it near the edge for the server, who comes swiftly with the bill. Nat watches as he pulls out some bills and lays them on the table. She tries to glance into his wallet, but he quickly puts it away.

"It looks like he's gone."

Nat looks at him to see him looking out the window. She follows his line of sight and indeed Jerome is gone.

"Yeah," she says. She frowns while looking out the window, lingering long enough for him to notice before she turns back to smile at him. "Thank you for letting me take up your time."

"You seem like a very charismatic girl. A born leader." He smiles at her again, but there's a look in his eyes that Nat can't place. "I wonder... if you're a genuine leader. One who can take a stand in the face of trouble."

Nat doesn't know what to say, so she just grins.

"Well, even though that guy is gone, he might still linger around. I'd feel better if I could drive you home."

"Be careful. Being sweet like this could make me fall in love with you," Nat laughs.

He hangs his head and chuckles before looking back at her, the smile in his eyes is back and glittering.

Nat smiles too. "I would like that very much. I'm actually... I'm actually staying in a hotel. Just until he loses interest in me and I can go back home. You wouldn't mind dropping me off there?"

"No need to be polite," he chuckles. "I wouldn't mind at all."

She follows him as he exits the restaurant and watches as he unlocks a car across the busy street. It's a bright red car, one Nat wouldn't have normally seen on the street. One that screams luxury with a foreign name attached to it. She smiles and knows Jerome picked an excellent target.

He jogs around to the passenger side and opens the door for her to slide in.

Slowly, as she sits in, she can see him put a hand in his pocket as he leans down and reaches inside the car with the other hand. Their faces are just inches away and it makes her uncomfortable. She watches as he slowly grabs her seat belt and buckles it in for her. Even after it clicks, he doesn't move away.

"You didn't even ask me my name."

"What?" She chuckles.

"Don't you think you should know your mark's name?"

He moves back so she can see him properly without him getting out of the car. The smile on his face is gone and his mouth and jaw are clenched tight.

Nat tries to sit up, but he pushes her back with a hand on her shoulder and squeezes.

"That young man, I've seen his face all over the city following me. And it's not that small of a city to keep running into each other. You think I don't know a scam when I see one?"

He pulls his hand out of his pocket and it races to her faster than she can track. Before she can even defend herself, she feels a sharp pain in her neck.

He quickly gets out of the car and slams the door before she can react. The people on the street look their way, but they can't see through the tinted windows and they walk away. She watches as he walks across in front and opens his door.

Her neck burns, and she reaches up to feel a strange thing. She pulls it out and it stings. She holds it up in front of her to see a syringe with a large needle. She tries to turn her head to look at the stranger in the driver's seat, but her body doesn't cooperate with her. Blackness slowly creeps in around her sight until it's covering everything and she's blind, though she can feel herself blinking.

"You are just what I needed for my experiments. A godsend."

Nat can hear the smile in her voice before she loses consciousness.