Fri, Aug. 19th, 2011, 08:24 pm
Dio Pt. 1 - Don't Talk to Strangers

 In that alley on that misty day over ten years ago, the man that extended his hand to me seemed like an angel, the kind I'd heard about at church when I was a tyke. Smiling, laughing, kind. He led me to a run-down, derelict building, filled with others just like me. They took care of eachother there, the man told me. Everyone had to work, but everyone had everyone's back. I always wondered if that man started this path that I've been walking since then, or if that day was merely the continuation of something started some time in the past.
For better or worse, that angel- no, perhaps it's more accurate to call the man a compassionate devil. That compassionate devil put me to work straight away. I was the lookout man for a few jobs before I was confident enough to give some petty shoplifting a go. Course, soon as I had, I found out I had a gift for it, and there were no secrets in the gang. 
Pretty soon after that, I got more confident. Corner stores, shopping centres, I was better than that. I was better than that, and I knew it. Nightly hits on jewelry stores were where it was at. If you could get in and out without being nabbed, that was a few k in the coffers, some new blankets, some new blankets, bribe money and, if we were lucky, we might get some Macca's or something.
The gang's power structure always confused me, and even now, I'm not entirely sure how it worked, but there was definitely one there, and no one questioned people who had more power than them. Graham, the man who found me, was at the top. Then were his pals, the Blades. I asked him what they did once, and he said they just tied up loose ends. Cut off loose ends would have been a more accurate description. Then there were the gang's callgirls. You didn't touch them unless you wanted some serious strife. I took a pair of panties from one once, and I sported a black eye for two weeks when Graham found out. After that, there were the thieves, like myself. You had your classier thieves who went for the big fish, then there were ones that stole everyday needs. You know, clothes, food and the like.
You had to prove yourself to move higher, but no matter how high you rose, you had to take care of the others, even moreso the more power you got yourself. Back then, it really was like a big family. 
Too bad things never stay good for too long.