Hope and Red by Jon Skovron Read Free Book Online Page A

hid himself behind a cart and watched through the spokes to see if Backus would come after him. He waited a few minutes before deciding the danger had passed. But now what was Red supposed to do? There was no way he could sneak past the front desk with Backus looking out for him. But he couldn’t go back to the ship either. Sadie had told him she wanted a proper captain’s hat and boots. This was his chance to prove he was good enough to belong on her crew. That he wasn’t a charity case.
    “Whatcha doing, Rixie?”
    Red glanced up and saw Filler, the boy from his old pickpocket gang. Filler had been a terrible pickpocket, and didn’t seem all that smart either. But he was a head taller than any other kid his age, so they’d all done what he told them.
    “It’s Red now,” he said self-importantly.
    “Who says?” asked Filler.
    “Sadie the Goat.”
    “Oh.” Filler looked impressed. He was keen enough to know the name, but thankfully not so keen as to know she was recently shamed. “You with her now?”
    “Yeah, so I don’t have time to…” He trailed off as an idea came to him. He looked at Filler appraisingly and a smile slowly grew on his face. “Say, Filler, my wag.” He put his hand on Filler’s shoulder, attempting that casual swagger Sadie had whenever she wanted Red to do something for her. “How’s about you help me out with this job for Sadie?”
    “Me?” Filler’s eyes got wide. “Helping out Sadie the Goat?”
    “That’s right,” said Red. “I’ll tell her what a true wag you are.”
    “Okay, what do I have to do?”
    “Follow me.” He led Filler back across the street to the Sailor’s Mother, then into the side alley and around to the back of the inn. The sun had set by then, and the alley was dark except for the light that came from occupied rooms.
    “It’s awful dark back here,” said Filler.
    “It’s not even,” Red said absently as he scanned the lit windows. He saw his mark on the second floor, one window to the left of center. He watched the old sailor take off his hat and coat, then the light went out. “Alright, Filler. Stand here.” He positioned Filler directly beneath the window. “And put your hands together like this.” He showed his own hands with fingers interlocked.
    Filler locked his hands together. “Now what?”
    “I’m going to run at you, and you’re going to give me a boost up to the window.”
    Filler looked up at the window. “I don’t know if I can throw you that high.”
    “Fine, then how about to that little ledge below it?”
    Filler squinted. “I don’t see any ledge.”
    “You wouldn’t see a flaming pile of horseshit if it was hurled at you.”
    “Yes, I would.”
    “Just trust me. It’s there. Give me a heave and I’ll catch it.”
    Filler shrugged and held out his hands.
    Red stepped as far back as the narrow alley allowed, then ran forward and jumped into Filler’s waiting hands. At the same moment Filler pulled up, Red pushed off and was launched into the air.
    Filler had been right about the window being too high, but Red overshot the ledge beneath it, slamming into a flat, empty section of wall. He bit down on his own whimper as he scrabbled for any purchase. His stomach lurched as he felt himself drop for a moment. Then his toes found the ledge. There was a sickening moment when his body started to tilt back into empty air, but he widened his stance and bent his knees out, like he’d seen lizards do when they clung to walls, and he found his balance.
    “Guess there was a ledge,” observed Filler below him. “But how are you going to reach the window above you?”
    Red hadn’t actually gotten that far into his plan. He craned his head up and tried to gauge the distance. It looked like it was close enough to reach if he jumped. But if he missed, it didn’t seem likely he’d be able to land back on the ledge. He couldn’t get a clear angle to see exactly how far of a fall it was, which was probably for the best.