There were almost certainly better pickpockets out there, but Nicole was disinclined to admit that sort of thing. The simple fact of the matter was that, while she could nick a wallet or two, she got better return for her efforts by simply walking through a convenience store. Especially these days, when everybody carried credit.
It certainly didn’t stop her from trying. It just meant, from a day-to-day basis, she wasn’t a pickpocket. Just a thief, with a few tricks here and a few tricks there.
Like this trick. The one where the girl wiggles through the thick crowd that always emerges near subways, and she bumps into a stranger and her hand makes a quick little dip towards the bulge in his pocket.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been pick-pocketed, hell, it wasn’t even the first time this week. Did something about him just scream ‘I’m loaded, steal my wallet!’ more than it usually did? Xander had already spotted her a ways away because that’s just how he was and it wasn’t like he could turn it off or anything. He let her come at him, though, he wanted to see if she was worth getting angry about.
All in all, not bad, but as soon as he felt his wallet disappear, his hand flipped back, grabbing the girl by her arm. “Nice try,” he said, smiling. He wasn’t going to turn her in, that wouldn’t do her any good. She’d probably get thrown into the system, and he knew how bad that place could get.
It was rough, though, because a big guy grabbing a little girl could get him in some deep shit if he wasn’t careful. Thankfully, there was an alley just by the subway stop, so he yanked her in and immediately crouched down, still holding onto her. “You hungry? Or you just like stealing people’s wallets for fun?”