I rounded the corner of the cobblestone road and turned into the alleyway. Tucked safely in my hands was a large loaf of white bread. Such luxuries are not usually found in the market, for the sake of thieves like me, but there are always newcomers.

"Hey," yelled the new baker as I darted into another street, barely avoiding his beefy fists. I ducked as he threw a can at my head, in hope of slowing me down. I looked over my shoulder, laughing, which only seemed to anger him more, if it was possible. I had a knack for annoying just about everyone. Call it a talent.

I turned again, missing yet another can. The baker seemed very determined to catch me. I was even more determined to get away. If only I could lead him to a busy street. I knew how to get lost in crowds of people. Craning my neck I was able to see the baker inches away from me. I felt his hot breath on the nape of my neck, which was a bad sign. For a man of his girth, he was keeping up quite well.

"Get back here, you rat!" He hollered.

" Which rat?" I called back. " I see a nice ugly, fat one following me. " He cursed at me and threw another can that went flying past my head. "We need to work on your throwing," I called back to him. The next curse probably made my mother cringe in her grave. I ducked into a crowd of commoners shopping at the market. He knocked over a cart of chickens, and caused people to scream as I scrambled deeper into the crowd.

"Catch that boy!" He bellowed, but it was too late. I had disappeared from his sight. The big man was having trouble running past all the confused people. I safely slipped past them unnoticed. Gripping the bread in my teeth, I wiped my sweaty hands on my ragged pants, and turned to the stone building looming before me.. I reached up and grabbed the first stone. Quickly and skillfully I climbed up until I was at the top. Was this trespassing? Yes. Did I care? No.

I surveyed the scene of the market below me. Four carts turned over, three loose chickens, two angry shopkeepers, and a thief on top of a building. For all my robberies, this one was ranked as one of the sloppier ones. Oh well. You got to do what it takes to survive. I suddenly spotted the new baker. " Hey!" I called down to him. " You can always bake more bread." I took a bite out of the side. " It's a little dry. Next time make a better quality loaf." Actually, the loaf was delicious, but I didn't want to tell him that. His face grew red from being insulted and started charging towards the building. Okay, it hadn't been the smartest move, but it was totally worth it. I climbed down the other side of the building, and started running again. I needed to get to Mrs. Grosky's home for unfortunate boys, where I'd be able to disappear. The name of the orphanage didn't apply me though. I believed that I wasn't unfortunate, just down on my luck.

I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps as the baker came down the road. Thinking quickly, I turned into the nearest building, which just so happened to be Mrs. Grosky's orphanage. It was a dilapidated building that desperately needed to be cleaned and rebuilt. It was made of a rough type of wood, with creaky floorboards. Only those with lots of practice could navigate the floor. Quietly, I slipped past the main room, and headed for the bedroom.

Sitting in the room were a bunch of boys ranging from ages 6-15. I was the older ones, about 13. Once you turned 16, you were kicked out of the orphanage and onto the streets. I spent most of my time on the streets anyway, so it wouldn't really matter when the time came. " Hey look," exclaimed one of the shortest boys, Devon, "Ky's back!"

"Whoopdeedoo," muttered a 15 year old boy named Luke. He didn't seem to like me too much, and the feeling was mutual. I split the bread into pieces and handed it out to the assortment of boys.

" We all thought you were a goner," said Devon between bites. " When you didn't show up for afternoon chores, we thought The Thief of Alleys had got the best of ya." The Thief of Alleys was the most notorious and feared criminal of all of Grandeen. It was everyone's nightmare to meet him, because you'd be dead five minutes later.

" Oh, " exclaimed Devon while licking his fingers. " Mrs. Grosky got a visitor today, sayin' he's lookn' for a kid. He's all nicely dressed with a suit and tie. Everythin' about him screams steal me!" He laughed and went to play junkins, which is a type of game played with stones, sticks, and a can. I went downstairs to eavesdrop on the new visitor. No one wants to adopt kids these days, so there was something really fishy going on.

"...so I was wondering if one of your boys would suffice," said the man. He indeed looked very well dressed and rich. His dark hair was cur short and swept across his face in some sort of style. He had a suit made out of a very rich material and two rings on his right hand. Mrs. Grosky looked extremely flustered and muttered quick " yes sirs" and "of courses".

" Do you have any specific kids in mind that would work, because the one listening in by the door would fit just fine." The man said calmly. I froze. How did he know I was there?