Snippet #2632110

Jackson made around twenty dollars during a few July 4th pickpockets, but with it being a holiday, and especially one celebrating the American spirit, cops were all over the crowded New York streets. Security was amped up more than any other holiday in case of terrorist activity, but also just because of the sheer number of tourists. They were everywhere. New York was diverse to begin with, so hearing someone with an accent or speaking a different language didn't necessarily mean they were tourists, but the mannerisms always gave them away. Taking photos with the street performers dressed up in knockoff Elmo or Mickey Mouse costumes, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk as if there weren't one thousand people behind them, nearly getting plowed down by bicyclists... they were easily picked out by someone who knew the New York streets as well as Jackson. Even with all of the pressure that Makayla was putting on him to come up with the money, he just couldn't risk it. It was easier to think that way now, when the child was still just a tiny little fetus in her stomach, and not a screeching infant listed on his child support check.

When he decided he was finished for the day, he stopped by the corner store to pick up some beers with the money he had made, and ran into a few friends. They informed him that they were leaving the city that evening to head out to Long Island. Apparently, a friend of one of the guys had pulled off a ton of successful house burglaries in one of the nicer communities and had gotten a tip about a family that would be away for the weekend. The guy planning the robbery knew the family's maid, who had given him the code to their security pin system, and if all went according to plan, they'd be able to make off with thousands of dollars worth of stuff. They needed one more guy to help move everything out of the house and into the cars they were taking, and for his role, he'd be given one thousand dollars. He couldn't say no to that. There was no way. That was the largest sum of money that Jackson had ever been offered in his life, and the idea of having that much money made him feel tingly. A grand wouldn't go far in New York but elsewhere, it could get him an apartment for a month or two. That would be enough time for him to get his shit together and pick up some job, no matter how low it was. He could start over, and even if he didn't become as successful as his parents wanted him to become, he would become something. He wouldn't die out on these streets like he predicted would happen at this rate. At the time, he wasn't even thinking about Makayla or the abortion bill that he was supposed to foot.

As expected, he accepted the offer and agreed to meet them at Penn Station that evening. They would take a train out to the island, be picked up by the group of guys planning the scheme, and he would be back in the city by the next morning with his pay. The risk of committing such a major crime was stupendous compared to pick pocketing, but Jackson didn't plan on being caught.

"I have to talk to you. Come outside for a minute?" Jackson had entered the basement quietly through the alley entrance, and with all of the girls apparently being on their way out, he didn't seem to garner much attention. Holly was with Cara and Brooklyn by the stairs, and he had just missed Savannah leading Nick upstairs, so he had a quick second to get to Makayla before she gravitated towards Holly.