Phoenix Heart: The Last Heir

CHAPTER 1: The Man in the Gray Coat

Gabriel's fingers were numb. Not the kind of numb that came from touching something cold for a few seconds. 

This was the deep kind that made you wonder if your fingers would ever work right again.

He stood on the elevated train platform, watching his breath turn into white clouds in the freezing Chicago air. 

Below him, the city stretched out in all directions with its lights blinking like stars that had fallen from the sky. Beautiful if you had money. Hell if you didn't.

His target stood three people ahead in line for the southbound train. Gray wool coat that probably cost more than Gabriel had stolen in the past month. 

Leather briefcase that screamed money. Gold watch that caught the platform lights just right.

Gabriel had been following this man for two hours now and every minute of it made his stomach twist tighter. 

The man had come out of the Regency Hotel after some fancy business dinner. He checked his phone exactly seven times while walking to the station. 

He kept touching his left coat pocket like he was making sure something was still there.

That something was what Gabriel needed.

A wallet. Thick enough that Gabriel could see the bulge from twenty feet away. Fat with cash and probably credit cards too. Maybe even traveler's checks if Gabriel got really lucky.

The train rumbled in the distance and Gabriel felt his heart start to pound. This was it. Now or never.

He moved forward in the crowd and tried to look like he belonged. Like he was just another office worker heading home after a long day. 

Never mind that his jacket had three holes in it or that his boots were held together with duct tape. Never mind that he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.

Keep your head down. Look tired. Blend in.

The train pulled into the station with a screech of metal on metal that made Gabriel's teeth hurt. 

Doors opened and people pushed forward in that mindless way crowds had. Everyone wanted to get on first. Everyone wanted a seat.

Gabriel let the crowd carry him forward and positioned himself right behind the man in the gray coat. Close enough to smell his expensive cologne. Close enough to see the designer label on his briefcase.

Close enough to work.

The crowd squeezed through the train doors and Gabriel made his move. His right hand slipped into the man's coat pocket as smooth as water. 

Years of practice made his fingers work even when they felt like frozen sticks. He found the wallet and pulled it free in one motion.

Easy. Almost too easy.

Then the man's phone rang.

Gabriel's heart stopped. The man reached for his pocket and his hand brushed against Gabriel's wrist. For one terrible second their eyes met.

Gabriel saw the exact moment the man understood what was happening. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened to shout.

But the crowd was still pushing and Gabriel let it carry him away. He shoved between two women with shopping bags and ducked under a tall man's arm. 

The train doors started to beep and Gabriel threw himself through them just as they began to close.

He heard the man in the gray coat yelling something, but the doors shut with a final hiss. Through the window Gabriel watched him pound on the glass. His face was red and twisted with anger.

The train pulled away and Gabriel slumped against a pole. His legs felt like water and his hands were shaking so bad, he had to stuff them in his pockets.

Too close. Way too close.

An old woman sitting nearby looked at him with concern. "You alright young man? You look pale."

Gabriel forced a smile. "Just tired. Long day at work."

She nodded like she understood and went back to her book. Gabriel wanted to laugh. If she knew what kind of work he really did she would be calling the cops right now.

He found a seat in the back corner where he could keep an eye on everyone. Old habit. Never let anyone get behind you. 

The wallet felt like it weighed a thousand pounds in his pocket, and Gabriel resisted the urge to count the money right there.

Wait. Be smart. Don't draw attention.

The train rattled through the city and Gabriel stared out the window at the passing buildings. 

Somewhere in one of those fancy apartments people were sitting down to dinner. Real dinner with hot food and clean plates. 

Maybe they were watching TV or helping their kids with homework. Normal things that normal people did.

Gabriel wondered what that felt like. He wondered if he would ever know.

The train announced his stop and Gabriel stood up. His legs were steadier now but his heart was still racing. 

That man had almost caught him. Another second and Gabriel would be in the back of a police car right now.

“You're getting sloppy. Can't afford to be sloppy.” He thought to himself as he climbed down the stairs from the elevated platform and headed east toward the camp. 

That's what everyone called it but camp made it sound nicer than it was. A collection of tents and cardboard shelters under the interstate overpass. 

Home to about thirty people who had nowhere else to go.

Home to Gabriel and Vera.

The walk took twenty minutes and Gabriel used the time to count the money. He ducked into an alley and pulled out the wallet. 

His hands were still shaking but he forced them steady.

Six hundred and forty dollars in cash. Three credit cards. A business card that said the man was some kind of investment banker. 

Driver's license with an address in the Gold Coast neighborhood where the rich people lived.

Gabriel took the cash and dropped the wallet in a dumpster. Never keep the wallet. That was rule number one.

Six hundred and forty dollars. Added to what they already had that brought them up to eighty two thousand dollars. 

Still eighteen thousand short of what they needed for Vera's treatment.

Eighteen thousand dollars might as well be eighteen million.

Gabriel felt the familiar weight settle on his shoulders. The weight of knowing that no matter how much he stole it would never be enough. 

The weight of watching Vera get weaker every day. The weight of being the only thing standing between her and death.

He walked faster and tried to ignore the way his stomach was cramping with hunger. The camp came into view and Gabriel saw smoke rising from a few scattered fires. 

People trying to stay warm. People trying to cook whatever food they had scrounged.

Their tent was at the far end near the concrete support pillar. Blue tarp stretched over a frame of scrap wood. Not much but it kept the worst of the wind out.

Gabriel pulled back the flap and stepped inside. The small space heater they had was running and the temperature inside was almost bearable. 

Vera lay on their mattress wrapped in every blanket they owned. She looked up when he came in and tried to smile. "Hey. How'd it go?"

Gabriel pulled out the cash and showed her. "Good. Real good. We're getting close."

Vera's smile got wider and for a moment she looked like the girl he fell in love with three years ago. Before the sickness. Before everything got so hard.

"That's amazing Gabriel. You're amazing."

He sat down next to her and she leaned against him. Her body felt too thin and too fragile. 

Like she might break if he held her too tight. Her breathing sounded wrong too with a rattle that made Gabriel's chest hurt.

"How are you feeling?" he asked even though he was afraid of the answer.

Vera was quiet for a moment. When she spoke her voice was small. "Tired. Really tired. And my chest hurts when I breathe too deep."

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her carefully. "We're almost there. Just a little more and we'll have enough. Then you can get the treatment and everything will be okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

They sat like that for a while and listened to the sounds of the camp outside. Someone was arguing about something. A baby was crying. Normal sounds that Gabriel barely heard anymore.

Vera fell asleep against him and Gabriel didn't move. He stared at the tent wall and tried to calculate how many more jobs he would need to pull. 

How much more could he steal before his luck ran out. How long before someone caught him.

The man in the gray coat had almost caught him. Next time he might not be so lucky.

But what choice did he have? Let Vera die? Give up?

Never.

Gabriel's phone buzzed in his pocket and he carefully pulled it out without waking Vera. Unknown number. He almost didn't answer but something made him press accept.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was female and smooth like expensive silk. "Gabriel Hale? I have a business proposition for you. One that will solve all your financial problems."

Gabriel's blood went cold. Nobody knew his real last name. Nobody except Vera and she would never tell anyone.

"Who is this?" he asked and his voice came out harder than he meant.

"Someone who can offer you ten million dollars for one night's work. Interested?"

Ten million dollars. The number hung in the air like a bomb waiting to explode.

"What's the job?" Gabriel heard himself ask.

The woman's voice smiled. "Steal something for me. Something very specific from a very specific place."

"What thing? What place?"

"I'll tell you in person. Tomorrow night. Pier 47 at midnight. Come alone."

The line went dead before Gabriel could respond.

He stared at his phone and felt ice spread through his veins. This was wrong. Everything about this screamed danger and trap.

But ten million dollars would save Vera. Ten million dollars would solve everything.

Gabriel looked down at the girl sleeping in his arms. The girl he would die for. The girl he had spent years stealing and lying and risking his life for.

What was one more risk?