The pickpocket gingerly lifted the man’s wallet as she continued to walk down the street. She had always had a knack for not being seen; she wasn’t short or overly tall and her brown locks matched her eyes, as ordinary as it gets. This worked to the pickpocket’s advantage as she walked around the black market, fishing for wallets as she went. She learned at an early age that if you move too fast or too slow, people will notice you. After walking the market several times, she decided to make her way back to camp.
Things have changed in the past 50 years and life on the streets was not an easy task, most people fit into three categories: committed, non-committed, and ex-committed. The committed were the people who joined gangs, whether it was for safety or food, they now had a makeshift family. That is, if you choose wisely; some gangs favor violence to get money and power, while the one the pickpocket is a part of is a gang of robbers, cat burglars if you will. The ex-committed or Exies for short are the ones who were exiled from their gangs for one reason or another, people don’t approach them. As for the Nons? They are solo. They never commit. Don’t want to. They work alone.
Coming up to a rusty blue door, she stopped and knocked seven times before stepping back. The door creaked open slowly as a young girl jumped out, “Erin!” She yelled running to the pickpocket.
“Whoa, settle down, Lilly. I was only gone for an hour, tops.” She smiled at the blonde girl before leading her back inside. “Do you know where Jackson is?”
“Down the hall in his office!” Lilly sang as she skipped off.
Erin shook her head and walked down to Jackson’s office. Gingerly pushing the door open, she stepped in.
“Whatcha got for me today, E?” Jackson said standing up from behind his desk. The pickpocket shuffled with her bag before dumping the contents on his desk. “Only 20 today? That’s pretty light for you.” He joked poking through the wallets on his desk.
“It’s the new police order, that death penalty has got them all scared to death.” She murmured.
“Not all of them,” Jackson laughed gesturing to the wallets piled on his desk, “obviously.” Slowly reaching for a sliver wallet on the edge of his desk, Jackson froze. “Erin, what did you do?”
“Huh?” looking up from her hands she glanced at his shaken face, “Jackson?”
“You lifted Killen’s wallet,” sitting back down in his chair he fumbled nervously with his hands, “How did you manage to take biggest crime lord of the city’s money?” Placing his head in his shaking hands he muttered, “He is going to come for you, you know.”
“Jackson.”
“I have to talk to Buddy.”
“Jackson!”
“What E?! You are putting this whole camp in danger, just by being here.” Sighing deeply he continued, “There is only four people that I know of who could have taken his wallet, You, Thomas, Allison, and that Non Clark. Sweetheart, you’re screwed.”
“Jackson…”
“Thomas might be the first one they go after, he is in Killen’s gang after all, but after that…God Erin how could you have made that mistake?”
“You’re going to make me leave.” Erin whispered.
“E,” he shook his head, “It’s either me or Buddy, and I don’t think he will let you just walk away.”
She started pacing, “What the hell am I supposed to do then? Once I’m an Exie I’m as good as dead Jackson. No one will even consider doing business with me!”
“What about that Non? Clark?”
Erin rolled her eyes, “Yeah right, like that Non would help me.”
“Erin,” Jackson said standing up slowly, “You might want to get your things together so you can be out by morning.”
She froze, took a deep breath, and turned around to leave but before she could Jackson grabbed her arm. “E, I know you can handle yourself, but be careful, okay?”
She yanked her arm out of his grasp and prepared herself to walk away from the only home she ever knew.

Three Months Later

She wiped the blood from her cheek and picked up the dagger. His eyes followed her blade as she pressed it against his neck. “Don’t. Move.”
Raising his hands slowly, he smirked, “I’m trying my best to be polite, but if you move that knife a centimeter closer to me I will tear you apart.”
Frozen in a standstill, Erin growled, “You are making this more difficult than it should be.”
“Bounty hunting? I imagine that it is pretty difficult normally.”
“You are such an ass, no wonder no one wants to work with you, Clark.”
“I’m pretty sure that was a choice I made on my own.” A sly grin forming on his face, he asked, “We could work together.”
“You are really an idiot.” She said pressing the blade closer to his neck, a small drop of blood spilling out of the fresh cut.
“You do have a bounty on your head, sweetheart, it might be nice to have someone watching your back.”
“Don’t. Call. Me. Sweetheart.”
Before she could cut his throat like she planned, he took the dagger from her hands. “Now, trying to kill your new partner is no way to make a good first impression.” Shaking his head he gave the dagger back to her.
Sheathing the weapon she pursed her lips. “I don’t know how to put this nicely. So I won’t.” She walked over to Clark, now lounging on the alley floor, “You are the most irritating person I have ever met and I have only known you for 10 minutes.” 
“I’m glad I made such a good first impression.”
“Asshat…” She murmured.
“Come again?” He asked jokingly.
Erin turned and glared at her new partner.
“Alright then.” Shuffling to his feet Clark gestured to Erin. “I would like to know your name, but at the current moment I believe someone is coming to finish that job you were sent to do.”
Glancing up at the roof tops, Erin saw a flash of light and a small shadow. “Let’s get cover then, I’ve been on the run for three months, I’m good at hiding.”
He glanced at her with what seemed like a sad expression and gestured for her to follow him. “This just so happens to be my side of the city, I know somewhere we won’t be found.”
Staying in the shadows of the tall buildings, they moved until they were just out of the sniper’s line of fire. “Why do you have a bounty on you?” Erin whispered.
“You didn’t think to ask when you took the job in the first place?”
“Money is money, I don’t ask many questions. You learn not to when you have a hard time getting any job at all.”
“Well,” Clark started, “let’s just say I learned something about our ‘glorious’ government, that I probably shouldn’t have.”
“Clark. What did you-” Erin was cut off abruptly but the sound of a bullet whizzing past her ear.
“Get down!” in one motion Clark tackled Erin to the ground, dust and dirt filling the air.
“Get off me!”
“I just saved your life, shouldn’t you be a little more grateful?”
Rolling her eyes Erin responded, “I didn’t need help, you may have twice my charisma, but none of my skill.” Pushing Clark off of her she slowly rose to her feet. “I have done many questionable things in the past three months, but I’m still alive,” pulling a small handgun from the back of her pants, she took aim in the general direction of the incoming bullets, “I’m no longer just a pickpocket.”