Jimmy scooted a few steps away while all the others watched the interaction in complete silence. “I don’t know! Maybe you dropped it!”
“Seastorm doesn’t drop anything he doesn’t want to drop,” one of the boys piped up.
Only one of the lads remained in front of Marc, the tiny Petey. Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes. “I don’t get one?”
Marc’s eye never left the older boy. “Will he get one, Jimmy?”
Jimmy’s shoulders drooped, and he opened one hand. “Come on, Ben. Here’s your stupid coin.”
Ben’s face lit up, and he scooted over to his friend. He took the coin and admired the rough surface with the face of a man on it. “Thank you!”
“Let that be a lesson to the rest of you that you have to stick together, or the Admiralty will stick you in separate cells.”
Many of the lads bobbed their heads.
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re right, Seastorm!”
“Now off with you,” Marc commanded them as he grinned at the company. “I don’t want to see you with that coin later, either.”
A whoop and holler came from the boys. “We won’t let you down, Seastorm!” They shot off down the street.
All but Henry. He tucked the coin in his pocket and looked Marc over. “What did you want from us, sir?”
Marc’s eyebrows shot up. “What makes you think I want anything?”
“Because you know we hang out around here, so if you came this way, that means you need something.”
Marc chuckled. “Smart lad. You’re right, of course. I have a job for you to do, but it won’t be easy.”
“Nothing worth doing is easy, sir.”
“A good answer,” Marc replied as he looped an arm around me. “And I’ll tell you about this job.”
Chapter 16
I was curious to know about the job, as well, as Marc led us up the slight incline that accented the street. Henry followed along on Marc’s other side while I finished the flanking. A faint rustle underneath my coat told me Ramaro, too, was eager to hear what his captain had to say.
Marc’s good humor faded with every step, and he dropped his voice to a low whisper. “We had some trouble with the Managers about a week ago.”
Henry’s eyebrows shot up. “They were after you?”
“They were after Rose.”
Henry’s attention fell on me with newfound respect and curiosity. “I’m sorry to hear that, Rose. Did you want us to look into them?”
“It shouldn’t be too hard, but any dealings with the Managers are always dangerous.”
Henry lifted his chin and nodded. “We all understand the risks, sir, and we’ll be sure to watch out for each other.”
“And watch out for a cat.”
The young lad cocked his head to one side. “A cat, sir?”
“These Managers had a cat with them. It has short white fur, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it could understand humans.”
Henry nodded. “We’ll look into it, sir.”
